An Enigmatic Source of Knowledge
by Chartic
Summary: Taylor becomes the magic user other magic users wish they were (acquiring a few health problems along the way), and would much rather be at home reading a book with a warm cup of tea than dealing with world-saving shenanigans.
1. Chapter 1

"Mr...Herbert?"

"It's Hebert" The man replied, more out of reaction than actual thought.

Danny Hebert was a mess. Bloodshot eyes stared blankly through large thick-framed glasses at the doctor who had called for his attention. What little hair he had left was an unkempt mess, much like his stained clothing. His body curved over, as if unable to bear the burdens placed upon its shoulders. He had been holding a vigil over his daughter for the past three days. Silent save for the occasional bout of curses or tears. Commonly both. His daughter lay below him, unnaturally pale, unnaturally frail. Connected through all manner of wires and tubes to the medical devices arrayed around her bed, a few emitting a beep or boop every few seconds.

"I'm Dr. Zaidi. If you have a moment, I'd like to talk about your daughter. There have been some complications."

A poor word choice. Danny shot out of his seat, chair toppling as he did so, and let out a cry. It was a loud pathetic sound that echoed in the small room. His eyes went wild, pleading. The doctor flinched back and hastily corrected himself.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have startled you. It's nothing serious, don't worry. I should have phrased that better. Please sit down."

The doctor moved around the bed and sat down on a chair next to the man, motioning for Danny to do the same. It was a comforting gesture, one he had done hundreds of times before. After a moment of hesitation Danny Hebert picked up his chair and sat, resuming his hunched over posture. One hand going up to rub at his balding head.

"Well, to begin with some good news, we expect your daughter to wake up within the next few days. The antibiotics have been doing their job and any blood toxicity should be cleared up soon enough. After a day or two of observation, we expect we can leave her in your care."

Danny breathed in deep and let out a long sigh, slowly letting his face morph into a smile. It wasn't quite a happy one, but a smile none the less. His body stood a little straighter and his eyes roamed over his daughter's placid face. She looked more relaxed than he had seen her in years.

"And the complications?"

The doctor fidgeted a bit before gripping his clipboard for support. "Yes well, while your daughter's more pressing medical problems have begun to clear up, her overall health has deteriorated quite a bit. We're not entirely sure whether some of these problems were caused by this whole incident, worsened by it or were already present and only discovered because of it, but your daughter has begun to showcase symptoms for a variety of illnesses. Asthma, anemia, vitamin deficiencies. Compounded with a weak constitution, likely from the contamination she was subject to…it isn't something that would require keeping her confined in the hospital, but it may heavily impact her quality of life."

"Christ." Danny let out. His hands rubbed over his face, passing over the stubble that had come in.

The doctor pressed on, ignoring the man's distress with practiced ease. "At the moment most of the symptoms have had a somewhat chaotic ebb and flow and haven't responded well to treatment. Not to mince words but your daughter may be very sick, possibly for the rest of her life."

"Oh Taylor…what do I do?" The question was directed at the room's sleeping occupant, but the doctor responded anyway.

"Right now? Ha ha, well I think the most important thing you can do is be her father."

His attempt to add a little levity to the situation fell flat. The words struck Danny worse than a physical blow.

"Other than that, some rest and relaxation will do her body some good. Give her time to recover. Also a proper diet will be crucial to help her gain back most of the vitamins and minerals her body needs. She may be quite weak for some time after this, just something to keep in mind. I would also advise possibly taking your daughter out of school until her health begins to recover."

The obvious "if it recovers" was tactfully left out.

"This ordeal has severely weakened her immune system, and that isn't even counting the rest of her maladies. It would be best to give her some time to recover if we want to avoid some sort of a relapse or worsening of her conditions. Perhaps have her take online classes to finish the school year, or just repeat the grade entirely. If she isn't happy with that, we should at least wait until she feels that her health has begun to stabilize. We can go over her vitals again and reconsider things from there."

Danny was not opposed to this. His conversation with the principal of Winslow had gone…less than well and he had responded in a manner...less than courteous. He was almost glad that Taylor hadn't been awake to see him that day. His temper had been a burden he had gotten from his father; best if it stay dead with him. He had still been forced to accept their deal. The family finances had not been doing particularly well, and he wouldn't be able to afford the hospital bill.

It didn't mean he had to enjoy it.

The doctor talked for a bit more and excused himself. There was nothing that could be done. He was incredibly sorry. This was Taylor's life now. Danny had stopped caring by that point. The point was made clear enough. There was nothing this doctor could do to help his daughter. After he had left, Danny grabbed his daughters hand and held on like a man drowning.

Her hand seemed so small in his. Just like when she had been a child. So small. So fragile.

"I'm going to be here from now on Taylor. I'm always going to be right here."

Taylor Hebert dreamed, unaware of the worries of her father. A lone tree sat on an azure earth, water springing forth from its roots. Round and round it spun, a dragon clad in white rising from the depths, muttering words of flame before bursting into a million burning lights. The night sky became a fireworks display of light, and then nothing, as it all vanished back into the aether.

Her father shot up as Taylor gripped his hand back.

And then, she smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

The Brockton central library wasn't the kind of thing that really drew anyone's attention. Located close to the heart of downtown Brockton Bay, it was a three story building, including a basement, built sometime during the Bay's golden age. It was big, especially compared to most of the other libraries in town, but was horribly overshadowed by the looming skyscrapers around it. In contrast to them, it was barely remarkable: the architecture was drab and boring and the tough years the bay had gone through economically hadn't done the building any service. But who cares what a library looks like? The place was practically overflowing with books.

It had also, for some incomprehensible reason, been designed with a one story staircase leading to the entrance.

I was already struggling for air on the fifth step, and halfway up was forced to stop to both catch my breath and avoid coughing out a lung. My asthma was not doing me any favors today. I also had a hunch the weary feeling aching through my body had more to do with my anemia than staying up for an extra hour or two to finish a book I had really gotten into. I really would have loved to be at home drinking a cup of tea, cuddled up in a blanket, but I swore to myself I would take a visit to the library today. I needed to get out of the house. It wasn't a particularly good day for my health, but it wasn't really a bad one either. I had dealt with worse over the past week or two, I could manage this.

At least my stomach had decided to stay quiet after the light breakfast with dad. I really didn't want to imagine how he would react to seeing me throw up trying to walk up a few stairs.

He was still sitting in the car right where he had dropped me off, watching me. Just in case I needed help or decided to give up and head back home. I hoped he wasn't going to be late for work because of this. The dockworkers union was the opposite direction and I knew I was probably adding half an hour to his commute with him taking me here, but he wouldn't have let me take the bus. Not unless I was having a particularly good day. Hell, he would be happy to add another ten minutes to that if I decided to give up and head home.

Dad had gotten a bit overprotective since the hospital, which I guess was understandable. I hadn't really been in the best state those first few days and the argument we had gone through afterwards hadn't helped anything. As a teenager, I felt that I should be annoyed with him, but for the first time in a long time it felt like my dad was back. Meals weren't silent anymore, even if some of the conversations we had were a bit forced at time. We were still working our way back to the way things had been. There were even plans in the works to go hang out as father and daughter in a coming weekend. It was…well it was all a little dorky I guess but I had missed my dad. It wasn't really perfect, but we were getting better.

And all it took was for me to get horribly ill.

Well wasn't that kind of a depressing thought.

Breathe sufficiently regained I pushed myself and managed to make it up the remaining staircase only bit breathless for my effort. I turned around and waved to my dad who waved back to me before driving off.

I gave a quick greeting to the librarian as I entered and took one long look at the computers sitting on the far side of the library. I'd been able to convince dad to let me spend the day here by saying I had an assignment to finish that I needed to watch a video for. Our house was probably one of the last ones in the state that still had dial up internet so unless I had a few days, I wasn't planning on downloading the video onto our computer. Of course that wasn't necessarily true: while there was a video assignment for math, the video was more supplementary than anything else. In all honesty, I didn't have a whole lot of work to do today. I would be fine spending a couple of minutes searching the shelves, finding a book I was interested in reading, and then getting started. Besides the assignment wasn't due for a few days. I could always work on it at home. I would be fine if I decided to read a chapter or two.

Nine hours later and the lunch I'd brought along devoured sometime in between, I had pulled out about ten different books that caught my eye, managed to finish two of them, and hadn't even gotten started on my assignments for the week. A quick glance at the clock told me I had around ten minutes left before I should probably head out to wait for dad's car to arrive. Hopefully enough time to come up with an excuse about how I had managed to do absolutely nothing today.

I really can't be blamed. I had been all but locked up in our house until dad was sure I was healthy enough to leave. I was going stir crazy and had been devouring the books we had, when I wasn't scrolling through PHO. I needed to switch it up a bit with something different. Like reading books in a library...

Besides, I was doing just fine in the courses. Surprisingly, when you didn't have a group of people collaborating to make your school life hell, it became a lot easier to learn. I almost couldn't believe I had argued with my dad about staying in Winslow. I had been more than ready for a transfer out, but leaving after what the trio had done just struck me the wrong way. It felt almost like I was letting them win, letting them finally drive me off after everything they had did (of course them getting away without punishment). Dad had agreed after a talk, a very long talk, that I could take a week off and go forward from there. I hadn't been feeling my best at the time, but was sure that I could deal with anything life would throw at me.

Then I had gotten to experience a particularly bad day of health.

I'd officially dropped out of Winslow and gotten enrolled in online classes the next day.

On my way out I noticed that off in a side room the library was holding a book sale. I didn't really have much of an allowance, but I had a few minutes and these things were usually pretty cheap. I might be able to find something interesting to snag for a quarter or two.

The place was packed with all the books the library didn't want any more, somewhat chaotically divided into their own sections, though that was being kind. The books were overflowing into one another, with small paper signs indicating the vague areas where one range of topics ended and another began. Somehow in a room barely bigger than a closet, they'd managed to pack an entire years' worth of reading material. I skipped past self-help and cooking (I was doing just fine with both, thank you very much), and found my way into nonfiction. There really wasn't much point in digging through everything. I didn't have the time for an in-depth look at each book individually. Better to just stroll along and see if anything caught my eye.

And catch my eye one certainly did.

The book was old and worn with age. So much so that I was slightly worried that if I picked it up it may just all fall apart. It didn't even look like the sort of book that should be getting sold at one of these book sales; it looked more like someone's old journal. It was leather-bound and had no title or author, nothing to really distinguish it besides a five pointed star imprinted on the books cover.

Well, that and a 1 dollar sticker.

I opened it up carefully, half expecting the pages to just spill out over the floor. Except they were in good condition, very good condition. The outside was cracked and weathered, but the inside looked as good as new. Aside from the writing all over it of course. I flipped through a few pages and was intrigued. They were full of long explanations and huge diagrams. I really couldn't make heads or tails of what any of it was saying, but it felt like a shame not to buy it before someone else did.

What were the chances I'd find something like this again?

I dug a crumpled dollar bill out of my pocket and paid the woman manning the cash register. I wasn't really sure why someone volunteering in a library would need such an elaborate suit, but I guess they wanted to look their best. Who was I to judge. I didn't have much time to think about it; I was already late to be picked up.

Dad was waiting in the car by the time I got outside. "Hey, I hope you had a good day today."

He gave me a one armed hug (the best you could do in the cramped confines of the car) which I returned in full force.

"How could it not be perfect when you're here?"

Dad let out a laugh but returned my smile. "I hope you don't mind, but Kurt and Lacey were thinking of coming over tonight. Bringing ribs with them and having us cover some kind of side. A few other guys from the dockworkers union might be coming over. Having a small little party to celebrate your health."

I hadn't seen dad's friends for…god knows how long. My smile got a little bit wider. "Yea, I think that sounds nice. Do you want to hear about some of the books I got at the library?"

"Of course, I'd love to."

Dad's car chugged along the rest of the way to our house, while we made idle conversation. It wasn't perfect, but it was getting better.


	3. Training Montage

Just a little something to help tie the month long gap between Chapter 2 and 3 together.

-

Focus on your breath. Let all the small worries, the looming problems, absolutely everything fall away. Think of nothing but your breath.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Nothing. I am nothing. Let my ego drift away.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Extend your sense of self. Become not one being, but everything.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

If this didn't work, I was going to feel like a complete idiot.

I huffed and tried to shake the thought from my head. The book had been very clear; if this was going to work, I needed to focus. Let all superfluous thoughts fall to the wayside. The first time using magic was always the hardest. An apprentice couldn't ever be quite sure if they were doing it correctly until they had cast their first spell.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Still it didn't make me feel any less silly.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

I was just testing this. I didn't really believe all of the nonsense from that book. I was just a…skeptical reporter, investigating into fantastical claims of magic. Yea, that was it.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Do not focus on the ephemeral. Gather your ego into yourself and then.

Breathe in.

Spread.

Breathe out.

I could feel them around me. Little pinpricks of light in the edges of my vision, like a million shining stars. All just barely there, barely noticeable to my perception. Still, so very close. I could just reach out and grab them if I tried. I was excited, almost shaking, but I couldn't mess this up now. The book said that with practice this process was almost unconscious, but for now I needed to keep my focus. Feeling them out was the first step but bringing them into motion was just as important.

I cupped my hands and more breathed then spoke the phrase. "Flame." The small nudge I sent out coalesced into a heat that slowly took shape in my hands. It was bright and hot, but not unbearably so. I just stared, not quite comprehending what was going on. I blinked a few times but there it stayed, burning like a miniature flare in the palm of my hands.

I actually was shaking with excitement now. My legs were cramped and asleep, my back was aching, and all this meditating had made me really tired, but I had done it. I had cast a spell. I had magic powers.

Magic was real. I wasn't an idiot.

I thrust my hands up and let out a wail of triumph. I wasn't pathetic, old Taylor Hebert, barely able to pull herself out of bed unassisted some mornings. I wasn't some boring average sick girl, no friends to her name. I was a sorcerer, a magician, a mage, a witch.

Ye'r a wizard Taylor.

I let out a small giggle at that thought. No, I wasn't nearly up to that level yet, but if the book was right about this…I spared a glance over at the leather-bound bargain-sale book sitting on the floor across from me. I could do so much more. Things like this had just been the beginning. An introductory chapter to help those starting out. I hadn't been willing to really admit it, but everything the book spoke of just sounded so appealing. I didn't want to get my hopes up over nothing, build up this nice shiny picture of how great life could be for me. A girl everyone made fun of being able to summon the forces of nature to her aid. It sounded too ludicrous. Something you would read in a book. But now…

I had so much I needed to do. So much I needed to find out. Was all magic real? Was only this kind? What about unicorns and dragons? I didn't know where to get started.

I blinked as I realized that while the magical fire was gone from my hands, I could still feel it burning away on the edges of my awareness. I twisted around a bit before I realized the homework I had been working on for a few hours, while dad was still here, had burst into flames during my introspection.

I gave a wail, as I rushed for my desk, trying to remember the spell for water. Only one thought flashing through my head.

Dad would never believe this; I was gonna be in so much trouble.


	4. Chapter 3

A lot of things can change in a month.

As I forced myself out from under my covers with a groan and a roll, all I could think of was, eight hours wasn't nearly enough time for a good night's sleep. Still I didn't have much of a choice; today was going to be busy. Even if it was tempting, I couldn't just fall asleep for an extra hour or two. I fumbled around on my nightstand until I found my glasses, the fuzzy world around me finally coming into focus.

I sat on the edge of my bed and took stock of my situation, which is to say I took a few deep breaths, stretched a bit, and checked to see what hurt and how badly I was going to be feeling today. It took a few seconds before surprise began to morph into joy. No coughing, no aches, no pains, no weariness. Nothing aside from the foggy-headed feeling of someone who had woken up from a deep sleep far too early in the morning.

I, Taylor Hebert, was in perfect health.

I did a little dance as I grabbed the leather-bound tome that had found permanent residence by my side, or on my nightstand when I wanted some light reading before bed. The original author probably intended for the book to be referred to as "A Treatise on Wu Xing and the Seven Luminaries" or something equally pretentious and self-important, but in my head I was just calling it "My Magic Book".

Which was probably something I would have to change soon or else I would start confusing it with the others in my possession. While I didn't have a library quite yet, I had a respectable collection going for me so far. While you could spy the occasional tome or two lying scattered on the floor or perched on my desk, most of them were taking up the top and middle section of a bookshelf dad and I had cobbled together. It wasn't a pretty thing, we had built it on a Saturday morning out of some old plywood boards. And by we, I mean of course dad built it while I held boards where I could and tried to not get in the way.

That had been a good day.

It wasn't much but I thought it was respectable. I was actually surprised at the amount of books you could start to stockpile over the course of a month, even with an allowance of only a few dollars a week. Either Brockton Bay was seeing a resurgence in the esoteric, or some sorcerer was liquidating all his assets.

Whatever the reason, the books were mine now and were being put to good use. I had been increasing in skill by leaps and bounds. There was only one problem; I was starting to hit the upper limit of what I could do. Not in terms of skill of course, I still had plenty of things to learn and spells to try out and then perfect. It was just that both my health and dad's watchful eye ensured that I wouldn't be waltzing around town whenever the urge struck me to search for useful books or special ingredients. Yet, I needed both for my own notes and reference material. Plus, I wasn't even finished with nearly half the books I had gathered on my few sojourns through Brockton Bay's used book stores and garage sales, and wouldn't be for a while longer without some intermediary book to help bridge the gaps in knowledge. I didn't have enough time for the books I already had and I needed more and more items to get through just that.

Hopefully by the end of today that wouldn't be a problem. When you don't want to take time away from reading, get someone else to do all that unnecessary stuff for you.

A knock at the door took my mind off my plans for the day. "Taylor, breakfast's almost ready. How are you feeling?"

Dad, right on time. A hint of a smile found its way onto her face.

"I'm feeling great dad. I'll be down in a minute." My voice came out perfect, not even a bit raspy.

I heard him offer a grunt of acknowledgment and head back down the stairs. Dad had to know that something was up. There was absolutely no way he missed the pretty huge shift in what I read. Maybe before the hospital, but not now. I wasn't sure what he had to be thinking about it, but I was certain it was along the lines of his poor baby girl looking for any hope she could find of getting better. He hadn't broached the topic yet, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he started asking. It wasn't like I didn't want to tell him, but I just had no idea how to start a conversation with my dad about my new magic powers.

-

After a filling breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast, I was ready to get down to business. At the moment I needed a flunky. Someone who I could send off to do things for me, deal with minor inconveniences that popped up now and then, and take care of me when I was sick. The obvious choice was a summoned being: something with a bit of intelligence that either existed outside of the mortal plane, or at least in a different phase of it. I had gotten a few books on the practice and even tried a few of the spells out. The concept meshed really well with my style; I still had the guardian spirit I had first summoned sitting in a decorative wooden owl perched on my desk.

A point of pride in my ability, and a reference to my mom's old nickname for me.

The problem was that summoning was a very broad field. I only had three books on the topic and they couldn't even begin to cover the variety of nuances to consider. Also, many of the things that could be summoned weren't incredibly useful for my purposes. While I could grab an animal spirit or minor deity to assist me with a straightforward problem, I couldn't really send them off on a task unsupervised unless I wanted to risk havoc. There might be a better option to take than what I was planning to do, but at the moment I couldn't be sure what it was, and in all honesty I was tired of waiting.

While not generally known for their kind and helpful nature, summoned demons would stick very strictly to a bargain forged and were incredibly versatile in what they were willing and able to do. They were also able to easily hide among humans and were of strong enough constitution to complete any task I would need to send them on (as long as you weren't sending them into churches or other holy sites).

Greater demons would likely accept nothing less than a human sacrifice, and more likely demand several of them. I wasn't entirely fine with going down that road. Also they would probably take offense to being summoned for something as trivial as being my gopher, and that would just make them hell to work with (heh). Lesser demons on the other hand were, while stronger than humans, sort of pathetic in comparison to their superiors and easily bribed. Plus, I was sure I could handle one of them on my own if it came down to a fight. Besides, with a well worded bargain, they were less than harmless and could hardly do anything without my explicit permission. I had already searched through my books until I had come across a demon perfect for my purposes.

All that left was the actual summoning.

It took a great deal of care to set up a proper summoning circle, especially if you wanted to be thorough. I could eviscerate a lesser demon easily enough, but still practice makes perfect and why not get some experience in while the stakes were low. I hadn't begun reading the book on runes and warding, so instead i had found an example sealing circle in my book on Demonology. While I couldn't understand the methodology behind it, I trusted the author that it would work. Salt was a good purifying agent and perfect for containing defilement, so I had used that to mark the border of the three circle array, and formed the sigil for the demon I was summoning out of pigs blood smack dab in the middle. I'd mixed the remainder of that up with some alcohol dad hid in the cabinet as an offering. Something to entice a lesser demon to stay after they had made their initial appearance.

"Taylor, I finished with your cup of tea." Dad said before opening the door and then pausing. He looked really uncertain whether to walk inside or turn around and pretend he hadn't seen anything. He had on his "I'm incredibly worried but don't want to push you" face again and was switching between staring at the circles marked into the carpet, the sigil and me. It took a few seconds but I eventually realized what was going on with him.

"Dad, don't worry. I swear it comes out of the carpet. You won't even be able to tell it was there by tomorrow."

Dad gave a nod at that but the odd look didn't really leave his face. He entered enough to place the cup of tea down on the side of my desk and then retreated. The door shut slowly behind him as he exited the room.

Very slowly.

I took one last moment to check over my work before beginning the final step. While the sigil was the key to summoning a demon, I still needed a catalyst to start the whole process. I took a deep breath and began chanting, feeling the gradual buildup of energy in the room as my summoning began to take shape. For this I couldn't be acting like Taylor Hebert. I needed to show my will as a powerful sorceress if I wanted to be taken seriously. Calm, cool, and collected; that was me. As my book on dealings with devils and the fae had taught me; as long as they couldn't see you sweat and thought you were holding all the cards, then you could get away with pretty much anything.

The sigils in the center flashed a deep crimson and exploded into light. Where nothing was before, suddenly stood a woman. Batwings stuck out behind her back and on either side of her head, both in proportion to the part of the body they were attached to. She wore a black housedress with a white undershirt, and had a devious look on her face. She was enticing and soft in all the ways that I was not (if you ignored the demonic features of course).

She also had bright red hair. It pissed me off a little bit. It reminded me of Emma's.

"Who has summoned me?" This step was the most important, the bargain. This part was serious, and those who decided to venture off script would find themselves blacklisted from further summonings. It was all a game of seeing who could take control of the conversation and lead the other where they wanted them to. It had been around since times unknown and followed a very loose but strictly adhered to format.

"That would be I." She gave me a once over with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you are quite a bit younger than my usual fare, but I am nothing if not…flexible."

I fought back a blush. Come on Taylor, don't lose your cool. Ignore the obvious innuendo, you are better than that. Don't let her take control of the conversation. "I did not summon you for something so uncouth."

"Oh?"

"I require a familiar. I believe your kind would be up to the task."

She picked up the bowl of pigs blood and whisky and took a sip. She must have found it to her liking because she then took a gulp. "Oh-h-h-h." She drawled out, blood dripping from her lips, down her face. "You have my interest. It has been a great deal of time since a sorcerer of some power has decided to bargain for my servitude."

"I require reagents and tomes of deep magical significance. It would be your role to acquire these and assist me in all my endeavors. In return, I would provide you sustenance and a limited freedom to roam the mortal world."

She took another long gulp of her drink and flexed her wings. I could tell from here she was testing the circle. Seeing if she could manage to break it. "An interesting proposition little wizard. Well then, do not leave me stranded here much longer. Let us officiate our contract."

"Exactly my thoughts."

I reached behind my desk and pulled out a stack of papers about two inches thick. They impacted the floor with a heavy thud. The dockworkers union had a _very_ thorough contract for its employees and I had managed to convince my dad into letting me get a copy. It had taken quite a bit of editing, but I had managed to make it work in relation to demon summoning.

The horrified look on her face made the appalling amount of time it took to write the entire thing worth it.

"What the hell is that?"

"A contract. I hope you didn't think our deal was going to be hammered out with only a few words. I've done my research into this sort of thing and read enough stories into how improperly worded summons are turned against the summoner. No, we are going to have a detailed contract, in writing, through which appropriate actions and strict regulations are discussed in clear terms. I believe you should start reading now, unless you would prefer to go over the papers word by word until we are finished. There is quite a bit to go through."

"A-all the other summoners have just formed verbal contracts with these sort of things."

I hiked my glasses back up the bridge of my nose, the light reflecting ominously off of them. It had taken about half an hour in front of the mirror but I had figured out how to do it perfectly. "I am _not_ some petty conjurer of cheap tricks. If we are to form this bond, we are going to do it properly."

That had sounded so cool. I hope that devils don't read Tolkien.

They apparently did not because she let off a gulp that was audible from across the room. I felt pleased with myself. It seems I had won this round. Still, I made sure to throw in one more quick barb. "Also, your attempts to appear frightening may work on the layman, but I am more than knowledgeable on your kind. I would be surprised if you have been summoned more than a few dozen times. Your inexperience with these matters is obvious, even to me. Your eagerness to form a contract, your flair for the overdramatic; you are a greenhorn if I have ever seen one. You pose as much of a threat as would a common insect at the moment for one such as myself. Now what am I to refer to my new familiar as?"

I must have hit the nail on the head because her backbone seemed to wither a bit after that beratement. "K-Koa."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Koa, I am Taylor Hebert. You may call me Miss Taylor. I believe we will have a very prosperous relationship together."

This was exactly how to keep a being like her in check. Just like with a dog, establish your dominance early to ensure their loyalty. From then on it was just a matter of deciding when you needed to show them the carrot or the stick. I gave a satisfied nod to myself and took a long sip of my tea.

"Taylor, I'm going to be heading out soon. Is there anything that you need?"

"No, I'll be fine dad. Thanks for asking." I called over my shoulder.

He gave a grunt and I heard him walking away.

"Yea, thanks. We're fine up here." Koa called.

I froze ramrod straight as I turned my head slowly to give a wooden look at Koa. I heard dad take a few more steps before stopping suddenly, probably looking exactly how I did at the moment. She just smiled back at me serenely as if she had done nothing out of the ordinary.

"Taylor, who was that?"

Fuck.

Dad opened up the bedroom door and stopped. He looked Koa up and down, paying special attention to the wings, and then looked at me. Looked back at Koa, then looked back at me. Summoning circle, Koa, me, summoning circle, me, Koa. Pigs blood, Koa, summoning circle, me, summoning circle, Koa, me, summoning circle, Koa.

"Hello I'm Koa, a succubus summoned by your daughter. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She even gave a small curtsy and a nice, bright smile.

That bitch.

"Taylor. Finish up here and come downstairs. We are going to have a long discussion about what you have been doing in your free time."

The door wasn't slammed, but I had never heard a door close with such a sense of finality before. I turned my attention back to Koa but she was nothing but smiles. I sighed. You shouldn't expect a devil not to be up to some trickery I suppose, and she had been given a fine opportunity there. Considering she hadn't willed herself out of existence, it appeared she was still interested in the contract. While agreeable, it appeared she was not above twisting the knife when the chance presented itself. Likely not openly hostile but interested in causing me some form of headache. I could work with that.

Still, I wasn't going to let her have the last word.

With a wave of my hand and a few words muttered under my breath the papers rose from the ground and flew over to land next to the demon without smudging a line of the circle. I pierced her with my sharpest glare.

"While I talk with my father you should begin looking over these forms. It appears we will need to go over every line of this document _in detail_ before we can begin working together. We wouldn't want to have any misunderstandings come up, now would we?"

Koa was trying to give off a nonchalant attitude but I could see her sweating as she eyed the stack of paper next to her. It seems I needed to start our working relationship off with an object lesson, just to make sure the idea stuck. The thought made me feel a little bit better as I left the room and marched down to my doom.


	5. Chapter 4

Dad and I awkwardly sat at the dinner table, neither of us willing to get the conversation started. I couldn't blame dad for how awkward this was. I didn't have a clue what could be running through his head at the moment. There were plenty of presumptions he had to be making, and none of them would put me in a good light. The silent thoughts, the averted eyes. This felt like one of the dinners we used to have. I didn't like it.

How do you even start a dialogue with your daughter about the dangers of demonic summoning?

I should be the one to start this conversation. I'm the one who had been hiding things. I owed dad an explanation, but I just couldn't force myself to talk. I wasn't going to give up magic, no matter what dad said. It was _mine_. It was one of the few things I had nowadays, something I could point to as a positive aspect of my life. Something that made me better than other people, made me better than Emma, Sophia, and Madison. Dad would never like the idea of me running around summoning demons and throwing fireballs. It was too dangerous, I could get hurt. I didn't want things to go back to the way they were before. I didn't want to talk about this. I didn't want to have to explain myself. Like always, I huddled into a ball and tried to pretend everything was going to be fine.

It only took one look at dad to realize that wasn't going to be how this conversation was going to go. He still wasn't looking at me, but he had put on his serious face. I had definitely found myself in deep shit.

"Taylor," Dad finally began, slowly picking through his thoughts, "I know these past few weeks have been tough on you. I understand. It's been hard adapting to your new…condition. But…well…what I'm trying to say is…" Dad rubbed his hand through his thinning hair, fixing a determined stare at the floor. "Taylor, you can't just believe all these crazy things you read in Wiccan books."

The dig at my abilities was what got me to emerge out of my shell. "Dad, don't worry, I was using all the necessary protections. There wasn't anything "crazy" about what I had going on up in my room."

For some reason, this didn't seem to assuage his concerns.

"Taylor you had a girl in a devil costume drinking some sports drink in the middle of a bunch of salt circles."

"It was pig's blood."

Dad dropped his head into his hands. "Does that make it any better?"

Well, it made sense to me that would be the preferable option. I mean, luring a demon to this plane with the blood of a pig was a lot better for everyone involved than a human sacrifice. I guess dad just didn't have the full picture in mind. How could I even go about attempting to explain everything that was required in a proper summoning? Perhaps I should just focus on bringing my dad up to speed on my new powers and try and expand from there.

"Taylor, please talk to me. I have an idea on what is going on, but I need to hear it from you. I'm trying, god I'm trying. Please, just let me know what is going on."

It seems that dad took the silence as me trying to avoid answering rather than pondering what to say next. I was happy to see him trying so hard to get me talking rather than just letting me curl up into myself. I would be happier if it was under different circumstances, but you couldn't get everything you wish for. I didn't really know how to respond to that, so I said the first thing that came to my mind. "You seem overly concerned about all of this."

"Can you blame me," Dad said, exasperation leaking through his voice, "This wasn't exactly how I expected to find out about my daughters sexuality."

It took a moment for my brain to process that comment. My face turned beet red and I fumbled for words on what I wanted to express. Luckily I found a few that fit the bill pretty well. "Dad! She is not my girlfriend! I am not a lesbian!"

"Taylor, its fine. I'm not angry with you for being interested in girls. I'm more concerned about what you two are doing."

My embarrassment only increased at how down to earth dad was trying to be about this. "We were not about to do anything! I am not interested in girls! There was nothing sexual about what you saw!"

"Then what the hell was that happening up there?"

"I summoned a demon to help around the house and take care of me when I am sick, so you wouldn't have to worry so much about my condition."

Not entirely true, but probably the best reasons to give if I wanted to get dad on my side in this issue.

Dad let out a sigh. "Taylor, you can't let yourself fall back into these fantasies. I've been reading some books lately about this ever since, well, since you started reading those kind of books. You're using these fantasies as an escape from your normal life, but it isn't healthy to-"

I decided to interrupt dad right there. It was pretty obvious the way this conversation was going, and the problem we were having communicating. Dad didn't believe I could do magic; not really a strange belief to have, all things considered. Most of the time I spent around dad was either me reading books, doing homework or browsing through PHO for cat videos, arguments on superheroes and other stupid stuff. It probably didn't seem like I fit the bill for an all-powerful wizard. I was going to need to show something more concrete before I could change his mind.

Today was Saturday, day of Saturn and earth. Now I didn't necessarily _need_ to follow the luminary calendar in order to do certain types of magic, but it did make it a bit easier. Plus, it felt like a secret trick I was keeping to myself. A puzzle other people would have to spend time on figuring out if they noticed the pattern. Earth magic wasn't necessarily the best thing to be drawing upon inside a house, but I could always do something small to use as an example. Plus I was feeling really good, fine control shouldn't be a problem.

I took a quick look around the room but didn't see anything that would be immediately useful for my purposes. Yea, I guess most houses wouldn't really be full of rocks and dirt, waiting and ready for me to magic them up. Still, I wasn't going to let that stop me. I sent a quick feeler out for any earth elementals in the area. No surprise, there were a bunch, but I gravitated to a few sitting outside on our lawn. With only a thought I lifted the window up with a wave of my hand and pulled a group of rocks in through the opening before shutting it with a disturbingly loud snap that made my dad jump. He swiveled around before his eyes honed in on the floating rocks. He followed them all the way across the room before they landed in front of me.

I took a breath and focused. The act of magic was fundamentally imposing your will on the world. All that users really required was that little spark to set things going, but from there it came down to ability, knowledge and method. You could brute force something like this, grab the fundamental laws of the universe and put them into a headlock until they conceded to your demands; that was more effort than it was worth and anyone stupid enough to do something like that deserved all the complications that arose from it. No, a smart magician would work through an appropriate method to accomplish what she intended to do. I took pride in how quickly I had adapted to my abilities; I didn't really have anyone to compare it against, but I felt like I was growing more knowledgeable at an enormous rate. For something like this, it was as simple as forming an image in my head of what I intended, and spreading my power out to the elementals present in the small chunks of rock in front of me. They took over the rest, changing and shaping it at my prodding.

The rocks began to slowly fuse together, a fairly quick process as the design in my head took shape. Almost like clay, out of the oddly shaped pebbles I formed a stone butterfly, frozen mid-flight. I looked up at dad and gave him a smile, lightly grabbing hold my work before extending it towards him. Dad just stared slack-jawed back at me, as he had done throughout the whole process. If I wasn't forced to concentrate, I probably would have laughed at his expression. In fact, I did give myself the luxury of a small giggle before calling on my abilities once again. The butterfly took off from the table, wings and antennae moving with the motion, and landed down in front of my dad, before returning to its true nature. I gave my dad a sly smile and said.

"Dad…I have magic powers."

-  
That conversation had turned out to be about as draining as I imagined it would be. Once dad realized that, yes I wasn't just reading dumb Wiccan books on how to cast curses and no the girl in my room was an actual succubus I had summoned and not some random girl I was dating, there had been arguing, yelling, crying, and finally acceptance. Well, a tentative acceptance. It was pretty obvious dad wasn't really sure how he felt about "all this magic stuff". That was something I would probably need to begin educating dad on in case he ever found himself in a situation which would require that knowledge.

Oh, also I should probably being attempting to find a boyfriend as quickly as possible. Koa's succubus nature had not been forgotten by dad and I was pretty sure he hadn't entirely believed my claims at heterosexuality. I understand why he might think so, and despite arguments made in my defense, was pretty sure I had not swayed dad's opinion much. Though, I think if I had summoned an incubus his reaction wouldn't have been much better.

At the end, things had turned out alright. Dad wouldn't stop me from learning magic, and as long as I was getting my homework done and not doing anything dangerous, I had pretty much free reign over my actions. I could tell he was worried, worried about my safety, but at the same time afraid to drive me away. I think he realized how much this meant to me. Maybe the crying had been what drove that point him. Other parents probably never had to deal with things as complicated as this, and I thought he was handling it pretty well.

Of course, after we got past the difficult parts of the conversation, dad had started talking about the old tabletop games he used to play back in the day, tried relating me to the wizards and sorcerers from that and, well, let's just say that things got out of hand shortly after and leave it at that.

Now there was only one loose thread to tie up before I finally was finished with this day and could head to bed. I opened the door to my bedroom expecting to find Koa still stuck in the circle, which she was. However, I expected to find her trudging through paperwork, not flat on her back with her arm over her eyes, moaning to herself. The contract I had written up sat around her in small piles, at least what papers weren't scattered all over the floor.

And no, not moaning like that. In pain.

"What the hell is this?" She let out to me in a drawn out whine, motioning to the papers strewn everywhere.

I don't think I had ever seen someone look so defeated before. Not really something you would expect being of the demonic variety. Not even dad at his worst had ever looked so hopeless. "I thought demons were supposed to be experts at dealing with contracts."

"Not like this, never like this!" She let out in an almost desperate plea. "I don't understand any of this. What kind of monster would devise something so needlessly complicated?"

"Oh don't worry," I replied, feeling just the tiniest bit vindictive for forcing me into the earlier situation with dad, "As I said earlier, we will be going over every single page, sentence by sentence, in great detail. I need to make sure that you fill out this paperwork properly after all and understood completely what you are signing up for."

With another whispered spell, I lifted the paperwork from where it lay around the succubus, sorted it in an instant, and dropped it onto her stomach. I was a bit annoyed she didn't let out any indication of discomfort, but tried to hide that reaction. Her comeuppance would be coming quickly enough. A copy of the paperwork I had sitting on my desk was floated over to me. "Now if you'll turn to page one, I will begin reading. This agreement is made on the current date, be sure to fill that in on your form. Do you have a pen? Oh good, between Koa, henceforth to be known as "Demon" and Taylor Hebert, henceforth to be known as "Master". Do you have any questions about those specifications?"

It was with a great deal of personal satisfaction that Koa began to cry before even three minutes had passed.


	6. Chapter 5

For how long it had taken for dad to recover from Mom's death, it appeared that he was surprisingly adaptable under the right circumstances.

"Good morning dad."

"Good morning Taylor."

He didn't even look up at me as I floated into the room and settled into a chair to the right of him. I still hadn't changed out of my pajamas, probably wouldn't if I could manage to pull that off. Dad hadn't made his displeasure explicit yet, but a few "questions" had shown he wasn't happy with the increasing amount of time I spent in my nightclothes. Well I couldn't be blamed, this nightgown Koa had bought for me was incredibly comfortable, and looked better than most of my normal clothes did. With the amount of time I spent indoors, what was the point of changing outfits? I placed a book I had been carrying on the table next to me, and folded my arms together as a place to lay my head.

"You sure you're awake there kiddo?"

I mumbled something vaguely hostile in response before letting out a massive yawn. Last night had been rough. Certain spells required very precise timing and planetary alignments, or at least that had been the hypothesis I was testing out. Koa had woken me up at 2 am to perform a variety of spells drawing on the moon under specific lunar conditions to see if there were any truth to those words.

To make a long story short, if I ever met the author of that particular book, I'd introduce him to peer review in a trial by fire.

"Hello Miss Taylor"

"Hello Koa."

Koa of course wasn't even a bit worse for wear. That bitch.

My personal demon set a cup of tea in front of me and returned to the kitchen to finish up breakfast. Judging by the smell we were having pancakes and bacon. The idea of having an actual hell spawn preparing your food may have worried most people, but I was not most people.

Also all recipes had to be submitted in writing, with each ingredient listed and all steps carefully laid out. I had made her contract incredibly thorough for a reason after all. I didn't need her messing around with my food to try and keep me on my toes.

I didn't chug the glass but it was empty after one very long and quick sip. Coffee had always been my dad's thing, something to help keep him awake with the hours the dockworkers union put him through. I had never enjoyed the taste, so I stuck with tea myself. It wasn't nearly as caffeinated, but I felt almost awake by the time I was finished, though perhaps that was due to the hot water burning my mouth.

"So, how are you feeling today?"

I gave a shrug in response. "Could be worse."

The migraine was annoying but nothing I couldn't handle. Dad wasn't the only one who was adaptable and I had learned by now the full spectrum of ways disease could inflict pain on the body. I had become somewhat used to most of it too. At least the migraine was all that appeared to be bothering me today.

Dad still hadn't quite caught on to me downplaying my problems yet. "That's good to hear." He said with a smile before returning to his paper.

I was just as unsure as he was how to continue the conversation so I opened my book and picked up from where I had left off. I didn't even get three sentences in before the glances dad kept trying to sneak from behind his paper became too much. I sighed internally and closed the book back up.

The silence stretched on for a bit longer before dad spoke. "So," he started off in a way he thought was nonchalant, "Have you heard about what's happening in Libya?"

"Forget that boring stuff, your food is ready." Koa ordered as she swirled into the room, two plates in hand. Dad wilted a bit at the interruption, but it's hard to remain mad when someone offers you food.

She had been doing a lot of the chores lately. Probably not the greatest use for a demon of her caliber, but I needed to keep her busy and it was easier than sending her out on errands at all waking moments. Who knows when I might need her for something of actual significance: assist me with a spell, act as a courier, or make tea? When her time wasn't spent gathering crucial materials and books, she was working as the personal maid of the Hebert household. I would have stuck her in appropriate attire as a joke if I had been willing to put up with the lewd comments.

"Hey, why does she get a bigger serving?" Dad asked, with mock incredulity, pointing at my pancake stack, nearly twice the size of his.

"Well she is _my_ servant." I said with a smug smirk as I took a bite out of my syrup-soaked pile.

"Taylor, you know how I feel about you calling her a servant-"

In a nonchalant tone Koa interrupted that debate before it could get reignited, "We need to thicken Miss Taylor up if we want her to have those nice, child bearing hips that the boys adore."

Dad spit out his coffee and I started choking on my pancakes. A swift strike to my back from Koa cleared out my windpipe but left dad and I both coughing up breakfast. I picked up my book and knocked her on the head with it. Hard. She was very lucky dad had banned fire magics in the house. "Don't say things like that!"

"Don't worry Miss Taylor, I'm sure that you will find plenty of women equally interested in you."

Another bonk across the head didn't seem to do much to dispel her mood and dad was staring at me with that odd look again.

"Taylor, you know if there's anything-"

"I am not gay."

Dad didn't look too certain but relented. I gave a huff and returned back to my food, as did he after another moment of staring. I thought I had managed to stem that stupid belief but apparently after the embarrassing scene he had walked in on last week, all of his doubts had returned and then some. You find your daughter pinning a naked succubus to the wall and suddenly she might be gay. Stupid.

Koa knew better than to press her luck; she stood off to the side quietly and leering at us as we ate. She didn't need to consume regular food, but it was something that I assumed she enjoyed doing. She just took more pleasure in attempts to make the meal awkward and uncomfortable. But as I said before, dad was remarkably adaptable and I just did not care. I estimated within a week she would either be eating with us or looking for some other way to make these small meetings unpleasant. Still, I knew an easy way to make her stop.

"Koa what do I have planned for the day?"

"Currently you have planned to finish reading a treatise on hoodoo, conjuration, witchcraft, and rootwork, begin experimentation on imbuing material objects, practice your more practical capabilities and attempt to defeat a boss you are having difficulties with in monster hunter."

I silently cursed Barroth for all the pain he had put me through this week.

"Taylor, you know I only let you get those games if you kept up with school."

I somehow resisted rolling my eyes. "I know dad, I know. I get bad grades and no video games for a week."

"So where in that busy schedule were you going to finish your homework?" Dad asked.

Koa managed to speak before I could come up with an excuse. "I believe her intentions were to complete her coursework in the fifteen minutes before you arrive home from work, as she usually does. She was also planning on dropping out of her online courses within the month and taking her GED to remove the requirement for a high school education, thus bypassing any need for additional homework."

Dad's heavy stare drilled into my soul. "Taylor…"

"I wasn't planning on telling him that yet!" I yelled, shooting a glare at the succubus.

She just gave a polite smile back at me. That bitch.

I dared a look back at dad. It wasn't a pleasant sight.

"School's stupid dad." I said with utter finality. "I'm not going to be using any of these skills later on in life, so why even bother with it."

"You wouldn't be the first teenager to say that."

"I'm probably the first one who wants to quit school because now she can fly around and throw fireballs."

Dad's argument stalled out a bit there. "Taylor, you are a special girl, but that doesn't mean you should just throw away your chance at education. I know you love this magic stuff, but I'm not gonna be around forever. You're going to need some way to support yourself and I'm not sure if you could pull off being the next David Blaine."

"Dad, I am going to practice turning iron into precious metals later today. I don't think making money will be much of a problem for me."

"I was wondering how you managed to pay for those games." Dad muttered to himself. I almost asked where he thought I had obtained the money before but the quick glance he gave to Koa made that answer obvious.

Dad was known for not budging on issues once he had dug his heels in. Judging by the lack of argument to my last point, I might be able to wear him down if I laid out enough evidence. "Besides, I'm currently gaining contacts in the industry. Soon enough I'll be able to find work if I really need it, or people who would gladly pay for my abilities and expertise. Regular schooling won't help me much now. I need to expand my circle and make an impact if I want to be taken seriously, not learn calculus."

"It's a struggle to get you out of your room most days, how are you getting in contact with anyone?"

"I send Koa out sometimes, other times exchange letters. It doesn't need to be much dad, just need to let people know I'm out here and willing to work or trade services. The magical population has taken a bit of a hit in the last few centuries but plenty of people and creatures are still alive and kicking"

"People and creat-, Taylor, _who_ have you been talking to?"

"Dad, please. I love what I am able to do and I want to spend the rest of my life doing it. I know you and...mom always wanted me to go to college, but things have changed, I've changed. I could never have imagined this happening, but it has, and it would be a shame to waste my talents. I've already found something I want to spend the rest of my life doing. Please dad."

"Taylor..." Dad trailed off and let out a drawn out sigh, shoulders slumping from the effort. "Fine, fine. We can start looking into you getting your GED." Dad said, uncertainty leaking through his words.

I let out a silent cheer but tried to keep myself looking as neutral as possible. I had felt a bit guilty about using the mom card but it was the only way to really get my thoughts through to him. "Thanks dad. I promise, you won't regret this."

"I already do, but you're growing up. I have to let you make your own decisions at some point."

I smiled at dad as he ruffled my hair. A heartwarming family moment if I ever saw one.

"Mr. Hebert, I believe you had something else you wish to discuss with Miss Taylor." Koa interjected from the other side of the table.

What?

"Oh, that's right. Thanks for reminding me." Dad clasped his hands together and brought them under his nose, striking a pose characteristic of bad fathers. His glasses began to glint in the light as I felt the weight of his eyes bearing down on me. "Taylor, I have been talking with Koa about your reclusive habits. I believe we need to have a little discussion about your lack of socialization, especially if you are planning on testing out of school."

I gulped as Koa laughed behind me. It wasn't a happy laugh.


	7. Chapter 6

I really should not have left my house.

How had I not picked up on the strange comments Koa had been making lately? "Oh Miss Taylor, isn't it such a nice day outside? We should go for a walk." "Oh Miss Taylor, have you heard about that new restaurant that just opened up? We should go sometime." I mean, I had just assumed Koa was growing bored. With the miniscule amount of nefarious activity I got up to on a daily basis, I thought she was trying to push me outside in some scheme to entertain herself. Koa had been tasked with plenty of fetch quests in the recent weeks and a few deliveries; I'm sure between that and the housework, I had been driving her insane with boredom.

That didn't mean I had ever entertained the thought of following through on her recommendations. I wasn't stupid enough to follow the whims of a succubus because I felt bad for her.

Which is why I hope she didn't think that I was going to excuse her for stabbing me in the back earlier. Dad worried, it was his default setting. I guess with how well things had been going in pretty much every other aspect of my life, he had latched onto my introverted tendencies as something to concern himself with. A few discussions with Koa about my habits here, a back and forth with concerns about me there, and bam. He had all but press-ganged me into promising to venture outside every single weekend, with Koa there to make sure I didn't spend that time hunkered down in a used bookstore.

That had not been a fun little talk for me. Dad had been in tough love mode with Koa standing off to the side, smiling and offering the occasional remark on how great an idea this was, how concerned they were about me, how socialization was important for a growing woman, how I would grow up to be an old maid with only my books to comfort me.

That last thought was fine by me, but I think some of those comments had really creeped dad out. Maybe a way to tear apart their alliance.

I had definitely underestimated how insidious Koa could be when she wanted to get her way. She must have tantalized my dad with honeyed words, and _**only**_ honeyed words, until he became so concerned for me that he was open to any plan that he thought would help. The trio had shown me how important socialization was to a growing girl and I had Koa to get things for me when I needed them. At this point, there really was no good reason for me to be leaving the house. I mean, my health waxed and waned. Dad had to understand it better for me to be safe and sound at home if I ever found myself suddenly ill.

Speaking of suddenly ill, by sheer coincidence these thoughts were coming to me at a bench on the boardwalk, while I hacked my lungs out. My asthma had decided to make a sudden resurgence, so here I sat with Koa by my side, rubbing my back for all the good it did. I had foolishly assumed that some window shopping at one of the safest places in Brockton Bay wouldn't be much of a problem. After all, I had woken up in relatively good health; how difficult could a little bit of walking be?

I hadn't even made it ten minutes.

The great start to one of my first sojourns outside in a month and I was down for the count. After it became painfully obvious I wasn't about to recover, Koa had been forced to all but carry me away. Hopefully this little bit of rest would be enough to help sooth my aching legs and wracking cough. Just a migraine, yea sure. How had I missed all of this?

Well, thinking on it, the answer was fairly obvious. I had never been the most active person before January; most of my exercise came from having to get to school, walking around school, and gym class. Being home schooled had certainly cut down on the majority of that and now, with the option of floating everywhere dangling in front of me, I had pretty much gotten rid of the rest. Just the tiniest push of athleticism had sent my conditions spiraling out of control. This coughing was even starting to upset my stomach.

It looked like this was going to be one of my bad days.

"Are you feeling any better Miss Taylor? Do you want me to get you anything? Some water may help with your throat, or maybe some food to keep your strength up?"

My coughing fit made it difficult to communicate, but a shaky nod was enough to send her running off. With Koa swallowed up by the tide of people, I was left sitting alone on the bench, the book I had brought with me clutched a little bit closer to my chest. If she thought that this was going to be enough to have me forgive her then she had another thing coming.

I hated the boardwalk. I hated having to come out here. I hated everyone bustling around. The sun was too bright and it was hurting my eyes. The wind blowing in from the bay made it too cold. There were too many people milling about. Everyone was talking and yelling; all the noise was making my migraine worse. I was tired. My feet hurt. I just wanted to go home.

I lapsed out a few more shuddering coughs before my breathing managed to return to a somewhat normal pace. After composing myself, I opened up my book and began to read, distracted though I was. It wasn't helping. All these people, all of the noise, everything was so suffocating. All of it so loud, so in your face, so confining.

So what if dad had a point? I could do just fine at home. I could walk up and down the stairs for exercise. I wasn't fat, I didn't need to work out. I didn't need to talk to anyone. I was fine just the way I was.

I saw a flash of red hair in my peripheral vision and turned to greet my familiar. That had been surprisingly fast. "Thank you for getting me-"

"Oh Taylor, you won't believe how happy I am to see you."

It took a few seconds for my brain to process what I was seeing; even after that it took another few before I believed it. Emma. I could see Sophia, Madison and some of her other friend's standing in the back, but my entire focus was on Emma. It was Monday, what was Emma doing here? Was it a holiday? Was there even a school holiday in March? I couldn't remember, I didn't even know what day it was. I curled in on myself instinctively before forcing myself to sit up straight. What was i doing? Was I really scared of the trio now? I had powers. This was my chance to get back at them. Let them know that they hadn't won. That I was better than ever now. Better than them. "What do you want Emma?"

That had come out a lot less forceful than I thought it would.

If she was bothered by my directness, she didn't show it. "Do you know how worried we were about you when we heard you had to be taken out of school?" Emma said, saccharine-sweetness dripping from her mouth, "After all, they couldn't give anyone else that locker after what happened to it."

"It would still be perfect for her. She smells just as awful as she did back in January." One of her cohorts butted in behind her.

A shudder ran through my body. They were already laughing, I doubt that they noticed. I had forgotten how awful this was, and starting it off by mocking the second worst day of my life? All of these girls were despicable.

I blinked away a few tears as I got ready to stand up for myself. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of wearing me down so quickly.

"What are you doing here." I said, forcing myself to look her in the eye.

"Enjoying my vacation with friends of course, until I noticed a pathetic, ugly girl sitting alone, as always. I guess you wouldn't know we were on vacation, would you? You would have to go to school to know that. Wasn't your mom a college professor? She would be so disappointed to see you like this. With your grades as awful as they are, no college would accept an idiot like you."

"She probably didn't leave Winslow, she was kicked out."

"She won't need it anyway, I heard she sells her body to the merchants."

"The only people who would be willing to have sex with her."

"Maybe she isn't sick at all, just side effects of all the drugs she's on."

Each insult built upon the other, burying me under a deluge of petty digs at my self worth. Emma had been my friend since we were kids, we had shared everything and been as close as sisters. Then, before high school, something happened. I didn't know what, but something had made her turn her back on me. She had done her best effort to undermine everything about me since then. Emma knew me so well that even without direct knowledge on what was happening in my life, she was still able to find ways to dig a knife in right where it would hurt.

That wasn't the worst part though. Once she had brought it up I couldn't get the thought out of my head. The locker. Surrounded by Emma, Sophia, Madison and their cronies. So tight, pressed in by bodies. My breath was getting unsteady and it was irritating my throat, triggering my asthma enough to force out a number of wet, painful coughs.

I hadn't had the nightmares for a month now. Everything before the hospital was like some horrible dream that I had finally been able to wake up from. Now, I had found myself right back in the middle of it, helpless and trapped.

I stood up. I needed to get away. It was all too much. I couldn't handle this.

Sophia was there before I had realized it. One hand on my chest and I was back down onto the bench, with an oof and a new round of coughing. "Stay there. Wouldn't want to see you get hurt in your condition."

So familiar. One push by Sophia and I was trapped. I wasn't hyperventilating. I just needed more air. It was getting harder, as my coughs were starting to get worse. The aches and pains were throbbing with every shudder that went through my body, and all the noise was making my migraine crippling.

It would be so easy. Just a word, a little burst of power. Emma didn't have any way to stop me. What would she think? Seeing that ball of fire burst into existence. Would she be afraid? Would she regret what she had done? Would she have time before she was obliterated? It was right there, ready to be created. Could I really do that, kill Emma?

It was getting so hard to breath.

"Hello Miss Taylor, I'm back with…" Koa seemed to materialize in our midst, one hand clutching a drink and the other a bag of something delicious no doubt. Her eyes bounced back and forth between Emma's group and then me. "Are these people you know Miss Taylor?"

"Oh my gosh, your dad actually hired a nurse for you? How could he even afford something like that? Your poor dad, putting himself even deeper into debt to take care of you. I feel so bad for Danny, having such a burden for a daughter must be heartbreaking."

Emma's words would have hit harder if they had been given to me a few months ago. Back when I was unsure about my relationship with dad, when I was still struggling with my issues, when money was tight and dad was killing himself to make ends meet. Now they barely registered, just scars of a wound that had healed some time ago. They also would have hurt more if my attention had been on Emma.

It wasn't. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Koa.

I had seen comprehension dawn in her eyes and then...I had never seen her with a look like that before. Koa's personality, at least the one she put fourth, was bubbly. I don't think I had ever seen her act anything aside from playful, besides the few times she had needed to appear professional while on the job. But right now, looking at the face she was giving towards the trio, I fully believed in her demonic lineage.

She wasn't angry, she was furious, murderous. With the formation of our contract there had been a bond between the two of us, meant to make conveying messages easier. I had never used it, it felt far too invasive and I was somewhat worried it could be turned back on me somehow. Right now I was sorely tempted to pull on it to figure out what the hell had just happened to turn Koa into this.

"I won't stand by while a bunch of pathetic virgin schoolgirls harass Miss Taylor."

Wow. Well, that had shut everyone up.

"What did you just call me?" Emma responded, also showing off a face I had not seen before, not in a long time at last. Angry, insulted, outraged: all good words to describe it.

"Pathetic. Virgin. Schoolgirl."

I would have expected Emma to be thrown for a bit of a loop by the sudden insults, but she found her footing quickly enough. "Like having sex is some big milestone except for sluts. Did one of your boyfriends leave you with a kid and now you have to clean up this losers puke for a living."

"Big accusations coming from a prissy princess hiding behind her daddy's money."

Was this a catfight? I had never really seen anyone go against Emma like this before; no one wanted to risk their popularity. Her friends must not have either because no one was trying to intervene. Instead they were all watching the back and forth like a tennis match.

Emma had gotten back her cool demeanor she wore like a mask. "Don't be mad that you're wasting your life, while I'm gaining recognition as a famous model."

"Cut that inflated ego for showing off your body to a few horny guys every week. Maybe love isn't the only thing you're inexperienced in. Bitches like you are a dime a dozen. You'll be gone before your first wrinkle."

"Like I'm really worried what some dumb whore taking care of that loser has to say about me."

It was easy to forget how tall Koa was. Between her, my dad, and me, she seemed to fit in very well, being a few inches taller than myself. That was of course forgetting my own gangly nature in relation to the rest of the female population. Koa practically towered above Emma, and was using her height advantage to its fullest.

"Little girl, I could tear you apart. I've eaten pigheaded children like you for breakfast. In barely any time, I could force you to your breaking point. Have you begging for death, for any release I would offer you. You could not imagine the full litany of tortures that can be inflicted on the human body. I would take untold pleasure in defiling and maring that cute little body of yours until all that was left was unrecognizable detritus."

"You better back the fuck off." Sophia interjected with her usual wit. She shoved Koa's shoulder, and I believe the succubus followed through on the motion for show more than anything else.

"Oh my, was it something I said?" Over the course of that comment, Koa's face had gone through a variety of emotions, but in the end settled on placid. Emma in contrast looked quite a bit whiter and unsettled after Koa's little diatribe.

Sophia stepped even further into Koa's personal space, begging for a reason to start something. "You're talking a lot of shit. Gonna see if you can back any of that up?"

Even with Sophia threatening her, their faces inches apart, Koa's glacial attitude dethawed, her mouth morphed back into the sly grin I was used to from her. She gave a wide smile and said to Sophia, "Testy, testy, you need to learn to relax~"

She tilted her head back to get a nice view of the cloudy blue sky. "Why don't you take it easy."

Then her forehead slammed into Sophia's with an audible crack. My once-tormentor fell to the ground. Out cold.

All the girls just stood back gaping, while Emma let out a cry and huddled above her best friend, shaking her to see if she would wake up.

"Come Miss Taylor, let's find somewhere else to sit before the food gets cold."

I allowed myself to be helped to my feet and Koa led me away. In all honesty, I was in just as much shock as those girls back there. I had known what Koa was capable of, of course I was, but what she had done...more importantly, seeing it done so efficiently to _Sophia and Emma_.

As we walked away from their little group, the only thing I could think of was why no one had come running. The boardwalk was one of the few places in Brockton Bay where crime didn't really happen. The paid enforcers kept a watchful eye over everything and would be there in a second if anyone got out of hand. Ready to beat you half to death if you caused any sort of problem. Considering the scene we just left, there should have at least been a group of them running over by now.

My answer came as we took another step and I felt a field of energy shatter around us.

"Ahhh, an illusion."

"Of course, I assumed the men milling about would take objection to me if I decided to rip that bitch in half. I of course took precautions to buy us some time if it came to that."

We continued walking and might have heard a few yells, but were already far gone by then.

We sat down at another bench, this time facing out into the bay. Almost the entire length of the boardwalk away from where that little confrontation had happened. Koa gave me the bag. Inside was an almond croissant, still warm. I took a bite, the inside soft and buttery, the outside crunchy and sweet in my mouth. It was warm, delicious, and exactly what I needed right now.

Neither of us spoke. We both just stared out into the bay, the empty sea fruitlessly sending wave after wave to crash against the shoreline. It was very calming. Something you could lose yourself in, the hypnotizing rhythm of the world in motion.

"You didn't need to butt in there."

"No, I didn't."

I took another bite and she allowed us to fall back into silence, while I ate. She offered me the drink, which I took with gratitude. It was lemonade. Far too sweet and tangy, but good.

"You could have killed those girls. Done horrible things to them."

She understood where I was going with that.

"It would have caused too many problems for you if I had done what I initially felt like doing."

I knew better than to ask what that might have been.

"Why get involved at all?"

"They insulted you Miss Taylor. Used your illness to continue aggravating you, while you were unable to fight back. I will never allow someone to do that to you."

I wiped at my face. The salty ocean air must be irritating my eyes.

"Besides I don't want one bad experience to force you back to being a shut in. You need to experience life Miss Taylor."

I finished my drink and let those words ring out. My attention focused only on the horizon. The point where a frothy sea and looming sky met. The view stretched out to nothingness, interrupted only by the few seagulls that dared the tumultuous wind.

So many assumptions I had made.

"Koa, I'm tired. Let's go home. We can go clothes shopping tomorrow."

She gave me a smile that at least seemed genuine. "Whatever you say Miss Taylor."


	8. Chapter 7

"What do you mean you can't help?" Emma Barnes shouted.

Now normally it would be incredibly foolish to argue like this. The boardwalk's enforcers were allowed to act with extreme prejudice and this particular one was obviously exasperated with this conversation, and the girl prolonging it. He could not have cared less about a teenager's feelings or opinions on the topic. Luckily for Emma, she was an attractive young white girl, and it would cause a stir if she got knocked around a bit. As well, she wasn't about to let something like his utter disregard for the subject matter deter her from her goal.

"I already told you, it's not that I can't help you, it's that I _won't_."

"That bitch assaulted my friend, turns around and walks away, while you stood there and watched! What if she had gotten a concussion, or was seriously injured? My dad would have sued the entire boardwalk!"

"Kid, I saw your friend trip and hit that bench on her own. There was a girl sitting there when you walked over, but she left with that "redhead bitch" a little bit before your friend knocked herself out. Unless you're saying I can't trust my own two eyes, then please stop wasting my time before I have to ask you to leave."

"W-well," Emma said, a bit lost for words, "I'm going to tell my dad about this!"

"Whatever."

That signaled the end of the conversation, and Emma's huff at his departure did nothing to stop him from turning around and walking away. She wasn't lying, she was most definitely going to tell her dad about all of this. He had been the one to ask her to talk to the boardwalk enforcers after all. If someone had assaulted Sophia then it was important to get witnesses and testimony so they had something to work with if it came to a lawsuit.

She hadn't really expected to get a response like that, but she was sure her dad could think of some way around it. If he went to talk to Danny, he could probably get the nurse fired or at least put Taylor into a suitably embarrassing situation. After that it would be easy to take the nurse to court, maybe even get her arrested.

After all, it's not like she knew the enforcer was defending her.

Still, Sophia would probably want to have a more personal revenge. She would accept nothing less after what the nurse had done to her. It would be all but impossible to convince her otherwise unless they really managed to screw her over in court.

Speaking of Sophia, since interrogating the enforcer had been a bust, she should probably go check in on her friend. Most of the others had scampered off to go shopping, promising their assistance if they needed to talk to the police or a parent. This left her the sole care taker for Sophia; probably for the best really. She could be a little testy after someone made her appear weak.

Sophia was currently sitting on the same bench they had been harassing Taylor at earlier. Despite the enforcer's uselessness in other aspects, they had at least been able to wrangle up an ice pack, which Sophia currently had clutched to her head hiding a pretty nasty looking bump. The ice pack would hopefully mitigate some of the damage, because it hadn't fully finished forming before it was put on and still looked pretty bad. It was also fortunate it helped hide the furious face Sophia was making from the general population.

"Feeling any better?"

"What the fuck do you think?" Sophia grumbled back at her. "That bitch got a good hit in. Next time I see her, there's not gonna be a sucker punch that ends the fight before it starts. Any luck with the guy?"

Emma frowned and sat down next to her on the bench. "No, he said he saw you trip and wasn't going to lie about that nurse hitting you first."

"The fuck?" Was Sophia's eloquent response.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. He probably doesn't want to be held responsible for someone getting hurt under his watch. I mean, who are the courts going to believe, a bunch of schoolgirls or a security guard."

Sophia grunted in affirmation. "Well this day has really turned into a shit show."

"I wouldn't say that," Emma replied, attempting to sooth her spirits, "Just because we don't have some random witness on our side doesn't mean we can't get back at Taylor some other way. I'll have my dad talk to hers, try and get her in trouble. At least get the nurse fired, and make Taylor apologize to us. If not, I'm sure we can always run into her again. I know where she lives after all."

Sophia wasn't looking at her friend, but didn't need to look to know she was smiling. She took the ice pack off and gingerly touched the spot where she had been hit. It still hurt, and but at least looked somewhat better. "Sounds good to me. Wanted to really put Hebert in her place, not just say some bullshit to her."

"No, I think we got plenty of good jabs in." Emma's smile persisted despite Sophia's obviously irritated attitude. "It's not like we can do a whole lot out on the boardwalk anyway. With how she was looking when that redhead took her away, I'd say we really managed to ruin her day. Without us around, she must have thought she was safe; she's probably feeling worse than you are right now. I wish I could see the look on her face, I bet she's crying, worried about us finding her again."

-

"A few letters have arrived for you Miss Taylor."

I took off my headphones, the loud repetitive pop beat still audible even from a distance. Dad kept saying I was going to lose my hearing someday if I didn't turn it down. I had magic powers, I wasn't really worried about that. "Could you say that again?"

"A few letters have arrived for you Miss Taylor."

Koa looked behind me at my computer screen and made a face. She didn't decide to voice her feelings aloud but I wasn't about to let her get away with that. If I was going to make this friendship work, we needed clear and honest communication. "What's wrong?"

"I wish you would stop going on that dumb website."

"What's wrong with PHO? It should be obvious by now that I am Pretty Humorous Online." She didn't even smile at the joke. Ouch.

Koa shook her head. "It's a huge waste of your time; you end up spending hours on that thing just looking at pictures and participating in dumb arguments, when you could be working or having fun. Besides, you've picked up a lot of bad habits from that website."

"I am having fun!" I told her. The disbelieving look she shot told me her thoughts on the matter. I decided to change my approach. "I know that I've picked up some less than productive habits from PHO, but these were the only friends I had before you. Sure, I might be spending some time playing video games or watching shows, but people on the site got me into that and now it's something I enjoy. Something to talk about and share."

"Well now you have me so you don't need that website anymore to talk with people."

"Koa, I need more friends than just you and some form of stress relief after a long day of hard work. Magic is fun but I need other hobbies and enjoy this one."

Koa discretely looked over my shoulder at a repeating gif of an anime man suplexing a deer. I blushed and scrolled down, which didn't help much as all it did was show more absurd gifs and images. I gave up and minimized the tab. "Between this, the games, and the cartoons, I am starting to worry about how others people are going to start thinking of you Miss Taylor."

"What would you know?" I replied with a dismissive wave. "You've never even used the website. You wouldn't understand."

"Of course I haven't been on the site, you won't even let me use the internet." Koa grumbled to herself.

"Yes, and there is a good reason for that. One you will hopefully never find out about."

I took the stack of letters and dropped them on the desk. "These are a few more responses than I was expecting."

Koa could only offer a shrug in return. "The magical world very rarely sees change. Generally newcomers who are human are from a family or start out as an apprentice to someone. It is incredibly rare to find someone who just seems to come out of nowhere. It takes a great deal of skill and power to overcome a lack of knowledge or direct oversight. Plenty of people and beings are going to be testing the waters, seeing where you stand and how they can get you on their side. Or perhaps it is something more mundane with just trading services and specialties. Hard to say. Humans are very odd."

I blushed a bit at the praise on my abilities; what I had done hadn't been anything too special in my opinion. I had books to help me along the way and now had Koa to bounce ideas and theories off of. Once you understood mechanics and underlying theory, it was all just practice and memorization, from there really.

"Well, I _know_ that you already read through these," Koa's awkward smile told me that guess had landed right on the money, "So why don't you give me a summary."

"Well," Koa began, taking a standing position to the right of me, "I think you should read the first envelope yourself. It's from an immortal mystic living in Ukraine. A nice man, handwritten letter and everything. Not much in there, but it's the thought that counts."

She then placed that letter to the side and pulled five off the top. "These were all schools that would be happy to have you come and learn from them. Pretty much a standard acceptance letter, no thought put into it. Seemed to be more of a master-apprentice thing, likely not what you're looking for."

Those letters were set to the side and six more were pulled off. "These were all people who showed some interest in maybe exchanging books or selling things to you. I wouldn't really trust them, seemed more like a way to scam you out of things."

Three more were pulled off this time. "These were from a wizard from Chicago, a monastery in China and a group of druids living in Britain respectively. All well wishes and offers to help get you settled or give advice. They seemed genuine but not entirely useful. Probably best to send a letter back to keep good faith. Advice is always helpful."

She took what seemed to be two thirds the remaining stack this time. "These were all vague threats or warnings about things you might do or where you might go. Magic users are always such recluses..." She trailed off, eyeing me for a moment before she got started again. Thanks Koa, I got the hint. "But they are very adamant about defending what they believe is theirs. Hostile but not in an overt way. Still, utterly useless to what you wanted."

"All the rest," she gestured at the remaining ten letters as she spoke, "Were offers to sell things or perform services in return for favors or gold. May be helpful at a later date, at the moment not so much, unless you are having a vampire problem or are interested some incredibly odd ingredients."

"No, at the moment the only problem I have is an annoying devil." I said, rubbing my nose. "How the hell did you get through all of those so fast?"

"Oh I've had all week to read them." She returned with a smile. "Had to make sure they were safe after all."

My right eye twitched.

No, she wasn't going to get a response out of me about this. I could see the game she was playing. Best to just push through to the thing that was really annoying me here. "So I got the magical equivalent of junk mail. Great."

I wasn't pouting. I was just annoyed at the sub-par quality of mail. I mean, I wasn't really expecting people asking me to go out on quests or join their secret clubs. Ok, well maybe I was hoping for something like that. But to just be blown off...

Koa put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry miss Taylor, this sort of thing can't be helped. You're new on the scene."

"But I'm smart! I'm strong! Why am I getting snubbed?" That was not a whine, I swear.

"Yes you are, but you're also new." She shrugged. "All you really have to back your word up is me, and in other's eyes, I'm just your familiar. No one has seen you prove yourself yet. For all they know, you'll be gone within the week, killed off or given up. They need some solid accomplishment from you before they'll begin taking you seriously. Even then, it may take a while..."

"Prove myself." I muttered. A book came flying off the shelf into my hand and I started flipping through its pages.

"Yes," Koa droned on, as I continued looked for a specific chapter, "a lot of the really secret stuff gets held pretty close to the chest. You have to get the notice of some very important people before anyone will let you in on that information."

I found what I was looking for. "So what I would have to do is go out and kill something suitably powerful in order to prove my abilities to fellow magic users and beings."

"Well, that will come with its own sort of problems."

I motioned for Koa to explain. "Let's say you kill one monster, well, then everyone and everything it is aligned with will start gunning for you, or at least act hostile to keep up appearances. Assuming nothing has really changed, the magical world is always split up into several different groups and factions, most with close ties to one another. You kill one person and you alienate a whole plethora of people. It will just cause problems and have things coming after you."

"Ugh, I thought I was done with high school drama. I just want to learn magic and relax all day, not deal with politics."

"That's just the way the world works Miss Taylor...oh! I almost forget, you had two more letters. I couldn't get one open and the other was really confusing."

She pulled two separate envelopes out of her dress. One a pristine white and the other brown, with the look of parchment. I gave her a look to let her know what I thought about her forgetfulness as well as reading my mail without my permission, before grabbing both. The brown letter seemed to have a seal on it, which I cracked with a thought. Not a whole lot to it really, just a small containment charm.

It was reflexes alone that saved me. Tendrils of energy began leaking out from the package faster than my mind could process. In contrast, Koa was already in motion, knocking the package into the air, while taking a defensive stance in front of me. My arm lashed out from my place behind her and a stream of flame burst forth from my hand. Fire was a very useful element. While water was always better at purification, there were few better methods of utterly destroying something than pure flame, changing whatever it may be to harmless ash. As the fire made contact, the package began to shriek, at least a shriek was the closest thing I could compare this sound to. It was something not meant for human ears to process, and was only there for a moment, before abruptly ending. The silence was almost overwhelming after that noise. Nothing left of the envelope but ash, slowly settling into the carpet.

"You read through these for my safety, huh?"

She gave me a shrug. "Whoops." For what it was worth, she did seem apologetic for what had just occurred. "Like I said I couldn't open it."

I could feel through our connection that she was telling the truth. She was even concerned and ashamed at her failure here. Aww, thank you Koa. I would make sure your punishment later wasn't as harsh as I was first considering.

Lesson learned, I opened the white letter from a distance, flame already prepared in my hand. After no attack commenced, I let the heat dissipate and brought the letter over to me. Inside was a beautifully folded origami crane. "Who was this from?" I asked, turning the bird over in my hands.

"A hermit out in Japan." Koa replied.

"Ah." I responded. That made sense then. I flipped it over and found a symbol I recognized marked on the bottom of the crane. Onmyodo wasn't really my thing, but I knew enough to get by. I placed the crane on my desk and made the appropriate hand gesture, whispering the word that went with it.

I felt the power of the spell reach out and latch on to the crane, before it began to rustle. The paper folded in on itself and then unfolded, the crane changing shape as it shifted in ways and gained length that should not be physically possible. It finally halted in the shape of a human sitting on their knees.

At least I think it was the shape of a human. Kind of hard to tell with it being paper and all.

The paper-person made a small bow and began talking. "Hello, I hope this would be an opportune time to chat."

"I am free at the moment, yes."

"I am glad to hear." What I assumed to be a shikigami responded and returned to her kneeling position. "I will keep this short. From your letter it seemed you wished to discuss something with me."

"Yes," I responded, adjusting my glasses, "I hope it was not too forward of me to initiate this meeting, but I don't have much in the way of contacts to work with."

"It is no problem," she assured me, "it is always nice to get acquainted with young bloods and better to do these meetings face to face."

I couldn't tell if that was supposed to be a joke.

"I found reference to you in a book as someone who acted as a neutral party in most of Asia, able to get in contact and facilitate deals between different groups and people."

The shikigami nodded at this. "Yes, I have worked like this in the past. I have remained in contact with most groups and people in Japan, Korea and China, what little there are these days."

"I am interested in starting a discussion with some of the major players in different fields. If my familiar was to leave a note on what I was specifically looking for, would you be able to help me with this?"

It was difficult to tell, but I was pretty sure the paper was attempting to look pensive. "It is possible. Your..." the shikigami took a look at Koa before continuing after a pause, "familiar would have to bring some sort of payment for any talks I set up, or a favor would have to be owed for a later date."

"That would be fair."

"I will prepare a list to send to then, perhaps spread your name around to gauge some reactions. From what I have heard, the Youkai of Boundaries is already interested, though if she is, she already is likely keeping tabs on you and will get in contact at a later date. This list will be free, but any meetings you wish to arrange will carry a price. If there was nothing else?"

"No, there is not."

"Good day then."

The shikigami bowed to me and I bowed back. "Good day, thank you."

With that the paper figure began to refold back into its original form, retaking the shape of a swan. I gathered only a wisp of fire on my fingertip and set it alight. Best to be careful with magic you do not fully understand; I didn't want to be spied on or attacked in my own home. "Ugh," I said, after the last tendrils of the shikigami began to dissipate, "I hate having to act like that. All formal with every interaction."

"It is just something you will have to deal with Miss Taylor, until you have fully established yourself and can be more lax with others. A genius is allowed to be eccentric after all."

I leaned back in my chair. I had a nagging feeling there was something I was forgetting. Ah, right.

"Koa?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember who sent that other package?"

Koa nodded. "Yes, if I remember correctly it was from a leader of a small cult out in California. A group that worshiped some abomination from across space and time. From the short interaction I had, it seemed within his purview to send _that_ sort of package, and he seemed sufficiently arrogant that he would not fear retaliation."

"Do you believe he is someone who would have dangerous allies?"

"No, men like him likely don't have much in the way of alliances. Especially not with the being he follows. He was a fool, attempting to consolidate some power through deals with dangerous beings, far beyond his ability to control."

"Well then," I said, paper and books fluttering around me, "I believe it would be only polite to send a letter in return. Something that would require your assistance in offering a proper thank you."

Koa gave a hungry smile. "I would be happy to help."


	9. Chapter 8

It was Saturday. The day of Saturn and earth. It was also the day Koa and I had planned to take a little trip to nice and sunny California. Half of that was because, while I had many options at my disposal in regards to elemental powers, I had settled on earth as the most appropriate for my vengeance. The other half was because dad would flip if I ended up disappearing for half of a weekday without a good reason. For some reason dad still was under this delusion that I needed to stay home and do school-like activities (reading, writing, browsing the internet) even after I had gotten my GED.

Ludicrous. Hopefully I would be able to dissuade him of that idea soon enough.

In better news, Koa had been right on the money. The man who had sent that letter hadn't even entertained the thought that he should probably remain concealed if he was going to be the magical equivalent of Ted Kaczynski. Hell, we found the location of his "religious retreat" (some old ranch one of his followers owned) on the _website_ about his cult. From what we had pieced together, he was some zealot from the south that had been forced to relocate when the authorities and residents of the town he had started out in had begun paying a little too much attention to the "Satanists" out in the woods. They'd relocated out to California (of course, where else would they go), gotten affiliated with some eldritch abomination between realities, he had named himself after a duke of hell from the lesser key of Solomon and the rest was history.

Even without any real Intel on the magical community's opinion, I was sure that this group no allies to speak of. Anyone foolish enough to pretend that they were one of the greater demons was tempting all kinds of misdeeds to come down on their head. They weren't the type to forgive even minor transgressions like this, and they also were not the type to forget any slight against them. Added onto that, things not conducive to the continued existence of reality generally weren't good for ones mental health. I couldn't see someone worshiping this thing as a god acting reasonably with others.

I would be surprised if this entity he drew upon even noticed the loss of his "followers". No, this was a message that wouldn't send out too much of a stir.

"Are you ready to go Miss Taylor?" Koa asked, entering my bedroom, before her hands flew to her cheeks and she squealed. "Oh my gosh, you look so cute!"

I flinched back. I knew wearing the sundress was a bad idea, but it was a calculated risk. I never wore clothes like this, it made me uncomfortable to feel so exposed and only egged on Koa's teasing. However, we were about to go from the nice spring weather of the eastern seaboard to Death Valley. Even at the beginning of April, it was going to be sweltering and I would prefer not to get heatstroke. I could deal with my devil.

My introspection cost me; I hadn't noticed the speculative gleam Koa was giving me. "Now Miss Taylor, you can't go out like that."

I was grabbed by my shoulders, lifted up, and gently placed on my desk chair. "It's going to be hot, we don't want you to get sunburned."

Before I could issue a command an explorer's hat had been placed on my head, and my face, neck and shoulders were being covered with sunscreen. Koa was humming and smiling and I just knew she was up to something. There was no chance she would give up a prime opportunity like this to mess with me. It seems that I had been growing far too lenient by allowing her to get so familiar (heh) with me.

Sure, it felt kind of nice to have someone caring for me like this, but that was beside the point.

"Here, let me take care of you. It's a familiar's duty to care for her master after all."

Nope, nope, nope, we were stopping this right now. I was smart enough to see she was building up to something. "Koa, I will allow you to finish applying sunscreen to my face, but I am growing tired of these little jokes. If you pull out another innuendo, attempt to rub other parts of my body or turn this innocent gesture into harassing me in some juvenile manner for your own amusement, I will be sending a golem in your place for this mission."

Koa flinched back as if she had been slapped. "But this is the only fun you've let me have in weeks!" She whined.

My unblinking stare offered her no sympathy.

"Fine, fine." She mumbled, more as a show of defiance than any real acknowledgment.

Koa finished rubbing sunscreen on my face as I asked, "Do you have everything?"

Koa nodded and wiped her hands off on her dress. It didn't leave any marks. "Not much for me to forget, is there?" She replied, pulling a sealed envelope out of a pocket.

"Which means it's even more important for you not to forget it."

She hummed in acknowledgement and I took two very deep breaths to help steady myself. It was time to begin. Koa had already scouted the area out, picked the perfect spot for us to teleport into, and while Koa had a simple means of relocating herself around this plane, at the moment I only knew of one.

My health was not the best today, I found myself somewhere in the middle of the bell curve my illness seemed to adhere to. This exertion shouldn't throw me for a loop (I would hope) but still would require more focus than normal if I wanted to avoid aggravating my symptoms. As well, though I had gone over this spell thoroughly, I had never actually attempted it before. I understood the underlying concepts and theoretically had the ability to accomplish it, but didn't want to screw up in some massive and nigh unnoticeable way. Distorting space was not something that should be done without caution; the human body could be ripped to pieces in an incorrectly created portal, the differences in physics elongating and pulling in ways that no normal being could survive. Depending on the relation to our universe's physics, someone could find themselves trapped in a tunnel between time and space for centuries, the only proof they existed a mummified corpse spat out only moments relative to when they first stepped in. There were numerous possibilities for ways things could go wrong, none of them pleasant.

It went without saying Koa would be going through the portal first.

I began to chant and reached out, turning my focus onto the two areas that I wished to connect. It would be a crude approximation of what I was doing to say that I grabbed at both areas and metaphysically pulled in an attempt to touch them together, space stretching like rubber at my insistence. In spite of that, it was the best explanation I could give for the magic at work and the least likely to give anyone headaches.

Going into magical wormhole theory, while slightly less mind-numbing than the physics behind regular wormholes, was still equally boring.

The two stretches of space touched just as I finished my last word, and a shimmering portal blinked into existence in the middle of my bedroom. I let loose a series of rough coughs as I fell back into the same chair Koa diligently pulled over for me. "Give me a minute." I got out between gasps and coughs. "I'm fine, just give me a minute."

With the stomach ache brought about by my coughing fit, it ended up taking a great deal longer than a minute, my trepidation only growing as time passed. I tried to fight off the butterflies plaguing my stomach, noticeable even over how upset it was. I might have been just the tiniest bit nervous, and it making me anxious, agitated and generally unwell.

Once I finally felt confident in my body's ability to press onward, I boosted myself up to my feet, unassisted even. "Alright, are you ready to test this portal out?"

Koa nodded and stuck one foot through the aperture only to let out a shrill scream as she was forcibly sucked through. It may have been a trick due to the speed she disappeared, but I could have sworn I saw her body begin to stretch like taffy in the brief moment before she was gone.

"Koa!" I cried out, realizing a second after I yelled she could not hear me.

'Koa!' I sent the message across our link. 'Koa are you ok? What happened?'

No response was returned. I started biting my nails. Fuck, fuck fuck Fuck! Complete silence could mean so many things: death or even worse possibilities. Horrific thoughts raced through my head in worry. So many things that could have gone wrong. Then slowly muted amusement began to filter over our connection.

My brows narrowed, comprehension dawned and then my right eye began to twitch.

A clump of rocks floated through my open window to hover beside me as I eyed the portal. I knew Koa's height fairly well, it wasn't difficult to judge based off that where her head would be about while standing. The clump of rocks shot the through the portal at a reasonably fast speed.

The feelings of surprise, pain, indignation and annoyance (in that order) helped bring a smile back to my face.

'My apologies Miss Taylor, the portal is stable.' There was a bit of a pause before the next message was sent. 'Geez, don't you think that was a little harsh. You shouldn't be so worked up about a prank. You can always summon me back if something really happened.'

'It's the principle of the thing.'

I stepped through the portal and flinched first at the momentary sense of vertigo and then at the sudden change in temperature. Already a sheen of sweat was starting to form on my brow. Who the hell would live somewhere that it was already over ninety degrees in April? The first thing I noticed was Koa kneeling in front of the portal, rubbing the back of her head. The stone I sent through now broken and scattered around the opening.

I wasn't worried about her, her actions were more for show than out of actual injury. Koa was able to take worse hits than a little wallop like that. I wasn't sure how far her durability extended but I knew better than to ask. I didn't know if I'd be able to deal with the subtle and outright innuendo I would have to trudge through to get an answer. It was one thing if she forced it upon me, but giving her an opening like that was just asking for it.

The second thing I took note of was our general surroundings. It was hot, sandy, hilly, bright, and covered in dying plants. I hated it.

Thirdly, I noted the more immediate area I had opened my portal into. Koa had chosen well; it was important to remember, underneath that bubbly exterior lurked a very cunning, ancient demon with a hell of a lot of experience in a wide manner of things. The hilly exterior, which stretched out as far as the eye could see, was dotted with dried, small bushes and not much else. There wasn't really much of anything to provide cover or hide two people sneaking around. We couldn't be too far away without ruining the point of a hiding spot and anywhere close came with the chance someone could spot us and that would raise its own heap of troubles. I had come up with this plan specifically to issue a warning. I did not want this to turn into a fight.

The landscape was just not suited for the type of spying we were planning to get involved in and I didn't want to risk an illusion field lest they had enough talent to pick up on it. Luckily, whether through natural means or hand dug by Koa, the hill we found ourselves at the bottom of sported a small trench. It could almost be mistaken for some dried up stream bed, if there was any water out here to speak of. From the small recess we were currently hunkered down in, it wound its way up until it ended beneath two dead plants at the top of the hill. Plenty of openings to get a good look at our target and, while lying prone, nearly impossible to see that anything was out of the ordinary. I ducked down and levitated myself up with care, not risking running out of breath for a 20 yard climb; I was already miserable enough. I inched along to avoid giving any movement away, and landed softly, well hidden with the land before me fully visible.

Our cultist's evil ranch was fairly average. A pretty big, multi-story building done in a Spanish-colonial style. Not much to it other than the pervading sense of wrongness, a spiritual unease that leaked into the surrounding landscape. Entirely expected, considering the type of being they were using to draw power from. There had to be some nasty business going on in there to raise a stink like this. I will admit, I held a little bit of trepidation towards this whole plan, but seeing what was going down there? What kind of feelings just being around the place brought out in me? It made what was about to happen a whole lot easier on my conscience.

"Koa, begin."

She nodded and then her body shifted. The best I could compare it to would be like water when a stone is thrown into it. Her general shape melted, morphed until she solidified into a much less eye-catching form. A blond bob cut and smart business attire with a pair of librarian glasses, tail and wings hidden of course. With her rigid stance and stern face, she had the perfect air of a no-nonsense business woman.

This entire plan hinged on the idea that a crazy cult would be stupid enough to try and kidnap anyone who showed up on their doorstep. Not too far of a stretch in my opinion. And if that didn't work, we always had Plan B.

Koa teleported away in a burst of flames, presumably to somewhere near the entrance to the ranch. I shut my eyes and began to disassociate myself from my own senses. To be quite frank, I wasn't really needed here; my part was more in case Plan B failed and we had to resort to Plan C, however there wasn't much of a chance of that happening. I just as well could have done this from home, though without the visual elements, but it felt important to be close to the action in case anything happened. Half out of a sense of adventure, half out of a worry Koa would try to get away with a little bit more than was socially acceptable without someone there to watch over her. My normal senses faded away and I was suddenly seeing through Koa's eyes.

It was disappointing that Koa didn't have some strange Succubus-vision, but I got over it quickly enough. Koa had teleported to the outside wall of the ranch and already entered through the front gate. The place almost looked deserted; it was rundown, with peeling paint and a few poor attempts at repairs where things had degraded enough to finally break down. Koa stopped at what looked like the front door and gave three sharp, deliberate raps. After about a minute of waiting, a rail-thin woman with long, dirty blond hair answered the door.

"What do you want?" She asked. Her voice was disconcerting to hear, dry and harsh, like it had almost forgotten how to speak.

"Hello." Koa said, her voice entirely unrecognizable to me, monotone and strict. "I am a real estate agent who is new to the area. I have been looking into several different properties along this particular stretch of road and was passing by when I saw yours. Would it be possible for me to come in? I would like to discuss-"

"We're not interested." The woman rasped out and tried to shut the door in her face. Koa's foot was much faster and blocked her attempt.

"I must insist. I am not with any companies if that was your worry, no one even knows I'm here. If I could come inside and talk with you-"

"No. Now leave before I call the police."

Koa nodded and spoke again, this time in her normal voice. "It seems negotiations have failed." One hand grabbed the door and forced it open, while the other wrapped around the woman's hair. With a sharp tug she slammed her face into the doorway hard enough to knock her out. The cultist went down with a splatter of blood from what was hopefully only a broken nose. "Looks like we're moving to Plan B."

'Koa! What the fuck!' I shot at her.

'It would have made for a very nice story if they _had_ kidnapped me,' Koa stated analytically as she opened the door, showing a foyer that suited the exterior. About five people in robes were milling about, watching the door. Well, had been milling about. 'But life isn't like those stupid cartoons you watch Miss Taylor.'

The five cultists took a second to snap out of their shock at seeing Koa's entrance, but quickly recovered. 'I couldn't argue with her to get inside so I choose a quicker option.' Koa calmly entered the house as she was charged by the five of them, presumably very angry for what she just did to their compatriot. They let lose a war cry as they rushed her; it may have been several different phrases yelled but it all sort of blended together into one guttural noise. Two of those voices were cut off prematurely as Koa sped forward, arms stretched wide, and clothes-lined two of them; hits to the throat that looked quite painful. With both gasping on the ground, Koa bent over, gripped their heads and slammed them together, knocking them both out.

'You did allow me some leeway in how I would handle all of this.' The remaining three looked a lot less sure of themselves, backing up as Koa was the one to advance on them this time. The first of the three went for a punch to her face, which connected rather solidly. Koa returned it with her own and he did a nice pirouette before collapsing to the ground.

'I'm more worried about you walking in and hurting all these people! This wasn't supposed to be a fight!' I shot back at her. The second one grabbed a chair and swung it with all the might his sickly nature could allow for. Koa blocked the worst of it with one arm and pulled him close to give a brutal head-butt.

'They're cultists Miss Taylor. It's not like they're real people.' The last, an older woman, attempted to make a run for it, but Koa was already in her personal space before she had cleared three steps. She was grappled into a quick choke hold and it only took a few moments before the woman's struggling ceased.

'Besides, they're fine. I haven't seriously hurt a single one of them. Just some debilitating injuries.'

The group of unconscious, bleeding bodies she left in her wake did not fill me with much confidence.

She paused for a moment surveying the group around her. "Damn, I should have left one awake to interrogate. Oh well, guess I'll have to find some more."

'Koa...where the hell did you learn how to fight?'

'Why Miss Taylor, I've always been good with using my body in _any way_ my master requested. If you want, I can describe in detail how I learned _everything_ I know.'

Hahaha, well it looks like we were cutting off that conversation right now. I could feel the disappointment grow as I refused to respond until Koa finally gave up and continued on into the house.

The interior was as bad as the outside. Peeling wallpaper, tacky décor and I felt it should have been more difficult to see in this shoddy lighting. Apparently Koa didn't have silly limitations on her vision, such as a reliance on light for her eye to process what she was viewing. I assume the strange filter, which had come over her vision was supposed to indicate the room's darkened nature.

"Now if I were a cult leader, where would I hide?" Koa sung to herself as she picked a random hall to walk down, well skip really. Ugh, this is why I didn't want to get her involved in things like this. She'd already escalated this further than I had intended. Still...as long as we finished this up quickly, I think this could be ok. She hadn't really hurt anyone. This was still just fine, this was just fine.

Her sing-song voice must have seemed inconsistent with the normal noises of the house because a door opened to her immediate right. "What wa-?"

He didn't get to finish that question. Koa switched directions midair, landed into a slide, and somehow gained momentum as she rammed her elbow into his gut, eliciting a loud "oof". The man took a short flight through the air before impacting with a wall. The room she walked into was Spartan; a bunk-bed, both with plain white sheets, a chair and a table with only a poorly carved wooden statue on it. From the rather…abstract nature to it I had a feeling that was the supposed to be a representation of their entity. Oh, and let's not forget, the room also housed another occupant. He was in no state to stop Koa's hand as it lashed out, grabbing him by his throat. His head was forced downward where it bounced off her knee. He fell bonelessly to the floor and she advanced on the man moaning in pain on the other side of the room.

It was surprising to say, but Koa seemed to have everything under control. I mean, I couldn't be sure. I had only books to tout as my experience, but it looked that way to me. This obviously wasn't Koa's first time doing something like this. It was conflicting to watch her hurt these people, but, she was only hurting them enough to stop them. That guy most likely would have attacked her after he came to his senses. Besides, we were going to be finished with this soon enough, and maybe my message would shake some sense into this group. For now, I left it up to her decision making. She was being somewhat professional and I could defer to her if this trend continued.

"Now," she drew out the word, almost purred it, "You are going to tell me where this duke of yours is hiding."

The cultist was apparently not injured enough to impede his response. "I would never betray-!"

She gripped his shoulders roughly and pulled him up, face to face with her. "Now," two long, forked tongues slithered out of her mouth as she spoke, one running along his cheeks and the other across his brow, "you are going to do everything," she did purr this word, "I ask of you."

Well, there went that idea.

'Koa, you will keep this encounter suitable for minors. I understand that there is a certain level of debauchery you like to involve in all of your actions, but I would prefer to never have any part in it. Least of all have to witness it with my own eyes. I'm only fifteen, Jesus.'

'Oh, you worry too much Miss Taylor.' I could hear the unspoken giggle through the message. 'I wasn't about to do anything naughty~. I was just getting into the mood.'

Her "getting into the mood" was exactly what I was worried about, and I'm sure she phrased it that way just to lay out that effect. Still, neither of us spoke that thought aloud, so, sufficiently chastised, she returned focus to her prisoner. The man's eyes had begun to form a strange sheen to them and I realized they were clouding over. His struggles began to grow more and more lethargic. "Where is your leader?" Koa asked, this time with a quiet, motherly tone.

He was silent for a moment before responding. "The duke is in prayer downstairs in the ritual room." His head began to loll to the side as he spoke and his words came out sloppily, as if he was drunk.

"Downstairs? Now, isn't that convenient. And where would I find the ritual room?"

"First…first door…the end…hall." His breathing was starting to become ragged, his words clipped and uneven.

"Good, now sleep." Koa ordered, flicking his forehead. His eyes shut almost immediately after that.

Koa let him drop. 'See Miss Taylor, I can do PG just fine.'

I chose to remain silent on that matter and allowed her to press onward. I could step in if she went too far. These were the people who had tried to kill me this week, a few bruises and a little blood was nothing in comparison to that.

I decided to focus instead on the house, to help clear my head. Had this man's idea of redecorating this place for his cult been to let everything fall apart over time? The only alternative to the dilapidated interior was what looked like furnishings he had bought in bulk for cheap. The few brief glimpses I got through open bedroom doors was more boring, repetitive rooms. Bunk beds, with only a few plain, white sheets to them, a table per room with that creepy idol. This was classic cult behavior. Beat down any attempts at individuality, drive them to their extreme until they began to accept whatever you were willing to tell them. It was hard to think of leaving when you didn't have any thoughts, and this malevolent atmosphere definitely didn't help with that. I felt a little bit worse for the attacks Koa had carried out but steeled my will; this was for the greater good. I had to show my displeasure over what this group had done. These people were standing in the way at the moment; I'd make a call to the police after, get them the help that they needed.

The door at the end of the hall loomed in front of us as Koa approached. Quite literally, it seemed to increase in size the closer we got to it. Drawing on these sort of interdimensional beings for the few scraps of power they could take distorted things. It tore away at the fundamental physics of our reality in negative and often violent ways. The "ritual room" must be where they performed whatever perverse rituals could give them a glimmer of power, in order to please their "Duke".

And boy, did I mean perverse. I better not have to see **_anything_** or I was going to be upset.

Koa was luckily not affected so much by this corruption due to her unique nature, but I was very grateful I was only having to experience this perversion of physics second hand. The first door opened without a problem and the stairs downwards were similarly conquered with ease. Unfortunately we were stopped by the door at the bottom. Locked, drat. Luckily Koa strategized a method to get inside.

Her foot reared back and slammed into the door, knocking it off its hinges and sending it toppling into the room before her.

The "ritual room" was possibly the most cliché thing I had ever seen in my life: it looked like something that belonged in a hammer horror movie, and a bad one at that. The place was dark and stony, lit only by candles with odd idols, artifacts, and drawings covering the walls and floor. About a dozen kneeling, (thankfully) robed, cultists filled the room and seemed to have been stunned by Koa's impromptu entrance, because, while everyone was watching her enter, none of them were attempting to do a thing about it. More worryingly, the room exhibited even worse signs of this corruption. The walls bent and curved at odd angles, defying any natural sense of geometry and making it difficult to tell distances. This couldn't be healthy, and was a lot harder to get rid of than asbestos.

The group of cultists had been kneeling before a cheap looking stage where the man who had to be the leader of this group stood, surrounded by statues of their "god" and the only one so far to have his hood off. He was thin and waiflike, everything about him seemed effeminate, with dark rings under his eyes and an almost diseased look to his body. This seemed to be common with the people here; either there was something debilitating about being in the very presence of this house or they weren't eating enough. Possibly both.

"What is this?" he shouted in anger, barely able to be heard over the door clattering around, a horrific noise that reverberated against the stone walls. Even his voice was effeminate, and marred with a slight southern twang.

"Hello, I have a letter for you." Koa called out to him. She walked right in as if invited; stepping with care to move around the riff-raff and debris. making great time despite the odd dimensions she was dealing with. I guess she had some practice with moving in non-Euclidean geometry.

"How dare you! You shall pay for this transgression!" The man shouted, stepping off the stage and walking towards her. Wow he was really overcompensating with the "evil villain" speak. Also, for some reason unconcerned that she had just knocked a steel door off its hinges. "You should never have invaded the inner sanctum of the Great Duke Vale-"

Koa's backhand into a wall prematurely ended whatever tirade he was about to delve into.

"Shut up." she replied dismissively. "I didn't come to hear you speak."

She slowed down, her walk fading into a saunter; she moved like a model walking down a runway. Each step deliberate, delivered with a strike and painfully slow. She didn't have much distance to cross after all, may as well draw it out with all eyes on her. She towered above the prone body of the cult leader and with a resounding click of heel on stone stopped her advancement, inches from where he lay. She slowly leaned over, like a cat deciding how best to savor the mouse it had captured.

"How dare you! To lay a hand against me!" He cried out, somewhere between desperation and anger if my guess was correct. Maybe a bit confused as well. For some reason, being smacked across the room hadn't seemed to knock much sense into him. Did he still think he had control of this situation? I guess he may have been messing around with his sort of magic for a little too long. "What fool would think to strike me?"

If Koa wasn't already smiling, I was certain she was now. From the way things began to shimmer around her, I had a feeling she was reverting back to her normal appearance. His eyes widened in recognition giving some prudence to that thought.

"Taylor Hebert sends her regards."

She reached in her dress and pulled out my contribution to this little escapade. I felt quite a bit of pride in the rush job I pulled off, though had it not been for the diagrams and notes available to me, I would not have been able to put something this complex together in only four days. I had never really worked with these sort of mechanics before; my spells were generally of the immediate consequences variety. Consider your intent, force the universe to bend to your whims and complete the spell with a chant, word or thought depending on its complexity. I had never studied the specifics of spell scrolls, sheets of paper ready let loose a spell at a specific trigger. Luckily I had books to spare on the subject and had managed to cobble together a working prototype based off my own abilities. It was somewhat similar to the idea of wards, which I did have a passing knowledge of, but put in use as a mathematical formula rather than a language. Crafting together a spell from its base components, and then infusing it with the appropriate power to get the result that you wanted.

I hadn't been given the luxury to test it out, but I could say to a certainty of sixty three out of ninety six that it would work.

Koa used a fingernail to break the seal and unfurled the letter, setting off the spell inscribed on it. The paper was tossed into the air, where it hung as it began to interact with the various earth elementals in the surrounding area. Koa burst into flame, teleporting back to my side in an instant, as the spell began to take shape. With my view now back beside me, I re-associated myself into my own body and opened my eyes again to watch the show.

I also got to feel the sweaty, tired, aching mess my body had become in my absence. Great, I was going to need to drink a gallon of water and take two showers when we got back home.

That was a worry for later; it was time to enjoy my hard work. I had managed to craft a multi-layered spell that would get my point across quite well, by bringing his whole house down on top of him. It was fortunate that they had chosen the basement to work in, as it was the best place for this spell to take hold.

First came the rumbling. Even from this distance, the tremors from the spell's origin point were shaking the sand around me. It was swift and sudden elemental movements, meant to weaken the structural integrity in the area, both manmade and natural. Next came a small concussive force, signified by a muffled boom, meant to disorient the inhabitants, loosen the surrounding toughened earth and rock, and prepare for the final step: bringing down the house from the foundation up.

Except, that isn't what happened.

As the earth began to shake and move, immediately I knew something was wrong. It was too violent, too extreme; I shouldn't be able to feel it from this far away. The final step was supposed to be a restructuring of the buildings foundation, destroying its stability and making it collapse onto itself in a non-lethal manner. This was not that. I could feel more and more elementals moving and shifting, and it was only spreading. What should have been a very minor and focused assault soon became too wide, too varied, too fast, too powerful.

There was a cascade effect obvious even from this distance. Had I messed up something in the proper arrangement? Was there misprint somewhere in my writing? Was the land just more susceptible to tectonic effects than I had considered? Plenty of ways in which I may have caused this, yet all useless at this point. The earth elementals were roused into movement by the spell I had laid out and my quick attempt at a counter spell didn't do much in the way of slowing it down. I managed to get through two more attempts before my illness overtook me, and I descended into a coughing fit, nearly throwing up at the strain.

This did not mean I was able to take my eyes off of my handiwork, oh no. The house collapsed on itself just as I imagined, but far more violently. Segments flaking off and crumbling, walls collapsing outward and the roof caving in. The surrounding landscape shifted, a valley took shape, the maw of the earth slowly opening as a sinkhole formed beneath the ranch proper. The buildings, the fencing, hell even some of the road slipped and sunk beneath a shifting tide of sand and dirt. It began slowly but quickly picking up speed, everything falling into the gaping chasm, second by second before the surrounding mountains lost surface tension and gave way, coming down like a tidal wave. The entire process took only moments, thirty seconds at the most, but the ranch was gone. Covered completely as the land reoriented itself to hide any evidence it had ever existed.

"Beautiful work Miss Taylor." Koa said…was she wiping a fucking tear from her eye? "I haven't seen destruction on this scale in quite a while. It's all about that big finish and you really delivered."

I didn't know how to respond. I just didn't know what to say, what to think, how to feel. I sat on the hill with Koa by my side as I watched the spell I had prepared finish burying at least twenty people alive, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do to stop it.


	10. Chapter 9: Koa Inter-lewd

Kettle in the cupboard: grabbed. I twirled it around my finger as I hummed a happy tune to myself. I flipped the water on, and held the kettle under the _gushing_ stream for _just_ long enough to fill it up. Placed that on the stove, turned up the heat, and done. I grabbed a chair from the dining room, plopped down onto it and began the long wait for the water to start boiling.

This should only take around three minutes. I could do this. I was patient I was resolute. Who couldn't handle a three minute wait? Definitely not someone as stalwart as me. After all, what was an affair without a little bit of foreplay leading up to it. I knew plenty of ways to keep myself _occupied_ if I got too bored~.

Except Miss Taylor had banned _that_ in communal areas after she caught me the first time. And the second time, when she realized she needed to be far more specific about what she had forbidden me from doing. So that just left me to my thoughts. I had plenty to think about after all. Yes, plenty of plots that needed my focus on them to achieve success. So many important things to devote my attention to.

Yep...

Do dee doo...

I threw my legs onto the kitchen counter as I tilted my chair back as far as it would go. Ugh, it wasn't that easy to just be by myself; I needed someone to play off of...or with~. Well, no progress to speak of on my "get Miss Taylor a harem" plot. Mostly because the only people she had interacted with to any degree for the past few months had been her father and me. The father angle obviously wouldn't work; I'd only been involved in something like that once and I had wound up killing the entire family at the end of it if I remembered correctly.

And of course, I did.

Obviously I'd win Miss Taylor over with my charm and wit soon enough, but you couldn't have a harem with only one person in it. That was just silly. I needed to work on Miss Taylor's interpersonal skills before I could set this diabolical plan in motion.

Well, first I needed to get her out of the house, maybe head to some beautiful sights. Convincing her to chat them up afterwards was going to be difficult but doable. After that, it would be a breeze. It just wasn't possible for someone to resist the alluring wiles of Miss Taylor. She was perfect. Smart, focused, driven, beautiful, and just so soooo cute. Especially when you needled her, she made this scrunchy face just like an angry puppy. She just needed to be herself, not that magician persona she threw on whenever she had to be forceful or felt out of her element. She had really been overusing it with her "stern talks" today.

Oh, today. Don't even get me started on today. It had been the best date I had ever been on (though Miss Taylor probably wouldn't agree, let alone think it was a date). She wore the dress I bought her! Miss Taylor _never w_ ears the clothes I buy her. Another good sign that she's starting to come out of her shell! All I ever get back is that it's too risky, or shows too much skin, or isn't appropriate, bleh.

Well, I guess she does wear that nightgown I got her, but that doesn't count. It's only one thing, and looks like something an old lady would wear. No, no, no this dress had been the perfect thing to wear on our day out. And the day had been a fun filled extravaganza from beginning to end. I hadn't been allowed to cut loose like that in far too long. Oh, and what Miss Taylor did at the end. Ooooo, just thinking about it sent shivers right down my spine.

That had been something biblical! A house of sin swallowed up by the desert! The heretics inside consumed without mercy by the Earth, at her command. The enemies of my master buried alive for their transgressions against her. I didn't usually find myself on _this side_ of the parable, but it had certainly been fun to see Miss Taylor's plan come to fruition.

Now, after all that fun, she was sitting in her room playing that stupid rolling ball game and refusing to talk to me. Wouldn't even rise to my jokes.

Now, if I knew my humans correctly, and trust me I knew my humans pretty darn well, then I think that she was upset about something. It had taken a little while to parse out, but I wasn't just summoned for my beauty. Well, I sometimes wasn't summoned for my beauty. Well...never mind. The point is something had upset Miss Taylor and I think I knew what it was.

Perhaps it was due to my nature, or the majority of masters I had dealt with throughout the centuries, but I kept forgetting this little noble streak Miss Taylor had going for her. One of her most adorable features, in my opinion. She _had_ just killed a house full of people, maybe she was feeling bad about it?

Eh, but I was just a multi-planar being spawned from the desires of humans and modeled around a religious philosophy, bound to this realm by a magical contract fueled by a teenager's bargain for assistance in assisting her lust for knowledge spawned by her awakening. What did I know?

But seriously, if I had to put a few souls up as collateral, I would bet that Miss Taylor was upset about that. Now, normally I wouldn't get involved in something like this, but Miss Taylor didn't have many other people to talk to. And if I heard her crying it would just break my heart. Well, not physically, my heart was more for show than serving any real function, and I guess not emotionally either, I didn't feel sadness. BUT! It would make me upset.

And besides that, as her familiar, the duty fell on me to take care of my master. It's why I was making the tea after all. I needed some way to draw Miss Taylor out of her funk, some way to get the conversation started. Perhaps I wasn't the best choice for this sort of matter, but who else was there to turn to? I had spent eons whispering honeyed words and quiet little nothings into the ears of lovers. Drawing out their most terrible secrets in order to betray them later on. Turning a sharp eye to find the minutest mistakes in contracts, to turn them around on my masters. It couldn't be that hard to take all these useful skills, and apply them to helping Miss Taylor out.

Well hopefully. It wasn't like I could really relate with her struggles. I wasn't bursting with philosophical quandaries about myself. After all, I knew why I was created. I had no moral qualms to deal with. All those little emotional hang-ups, bleh, who needed them.

You know, thinking about it, Danny might just be the better person to handle this sort of talk. Someone who could at least understand what you were going through and sympathize with what you were feeling. Something like a friend. All exploits I had no real experience in.

But Miss Taylor would never want her father involved in this side of her life. If this was what I needed to do for Miss Taylor, I would try my best.

It would be an interesting new experience for the both of us at least. Laying our problems out to bear, dealing with issues, using the power of friendship to solve everything. Ugh, I didn't really want to sound like one of Miss Taylor's cartoons. But I could play the part well enough, I had taken on worse personas before. I would play whatever role I believed would help Miss Taylor succeed.

Even for someone like me, it was obvious to see Miss Taylor was hurting. Danny and I had discussed it countless times when she had gone to bed early or was too distracted to notice my absence. How we thought she was doing and ways we believed we could help her become better. Perhaps not what I had been summoned for, but Miss Taylor was unconventional. Nothing about this contract was following the normal rules, so why should I?

Miss Taylor had grown on me. Obviously, there were over a million ways I could hurt her, even with the contract restricting me and yet I chose not to. For once in my existence, I had found purpose rather than been given it. She was just so innocent, so pure. And no, I wasn't talking about that way~, well not entirely that way. But just to see her try, struggle, and achieve. To care and fight and smile. It touched even something like me. Not in the fun way, but still in a good way.

I was going to make Miss Taylor achieve her full potential. If I had a bit of fun on the way, who could blame a succubus? I would help her overcome her human hang-ups, improve her magical abilities, and rise beyond all those who would dare stand next to her.

And damn anyone who would even lay a finger on her.

Those three girls were lucky I was constrained by a contract to only injure as a retaliatory measure or on Miss Taylor's orders. That had been a solid hit I had given the black one but it hadn't been nearly enough to sate my blood lust. It was fine though, like I said, I was patient. I could wait, hoping they would be foolish enough to try and hurt Miss Taylor again. For what they had done to her, I would repay that pain a thousand times over. Miss Taylor was _mine_ , she was important to me and under my protection. Thankfully, inflicting agony on the human body was something I was very well acquainted with. Almost as much as inflicting pleasure. I had plenty of ideas I had never been able to try out, but I'm sure they would be happy to help with~.

Hmmmm, maybe I should ask Miss Taylor if I can start invading dreams again. Well, obviously not put that way, but perhaps if I phrased it a bit more subtly, and gave a few reassurances to not use it on her unless the situation direly called for it…

Miss Taylor had become something of a common thought of mine. She was a nontraditional magician to say the least, and that was nice. The last few months alone with her had been a breath of fresh air really. My contracts were fairly monotonous to get through...though that's not to say I didn't have my fun with them~...but doing something new. Entirely new. It was fantastic. And when I wasn't on contracts? Well I might as well not have existed. All these chances for fun. All the challenges to come. I couldn't remember the last time I had been this happy

It would be a difficult adjustment when this contract finally ran out.

The tea _finally_ began to whistle on the stovetop. I took it off and let it cool for a bit. Loose leaf Oolong was grabbed and placed into the kettle. Two cups put on a tray, the kettle placed beside them, and Miss Taylor's favorite scones put beside that.

I grabbed the tray, headed up the stairs and made my way to Miss Taylor's closed door. The annoying theme of that game still audible.

I knocked on the door. No response.

I called out "Miss Taylor?" No response.

"I made you some tea. I also have a few of the scones from yesterday." I had to wait about thirty seconds before a muffled "come in" was given back. A step in the right direction.

I opened the door with care and tiptoed inside, afraid to startle her. Have her send me away at the first sign of trouble. I was well acquainted with bending others to your whims. Sometimes you needed to lead with the "carrot" and other times with the whip~. "Here Miss Taylor, I made your favorite tea and some snacks. I was hoping we could-"

The doorbell rang throughout the house, halting my speech.

"Koa, could you get that?" Miss Taylor said, finding the distraction I just knew she was looking for. "Just leave the tea here. I'll grab it in a bit."

I scowled and placed the tray down. This had better be pretty damned important. If it was more of those Jehovah's Witnesses, then I was really going to scare them off this time. I made my way down the stairs, and opened the door, fully professional of course. If this was going to be someone important I had to be sure I was on my best behavior. I didn't want Miss Taylor to suffer due to my own irritation.

Standing on the Hebert household's front step was a woman in one of the oddest outfits I had ever seen. And I had seen, and worn, plenty of odd ones. This woman was wearing an all-black, skin tight polyester-ish ensemble with a tower emblem on the front of it. Clothing choices like this were very popular in certain circles, but usually weren't worn outside the bedroom. She also came equipped with a massive cape, somehow fluttering in the breeze outside, as well as a steel helmet concealing very little of the long dark hair that came out the back of it. Somehow, with her almost heroic stance and stern body language, she managed to pull the whole thing off.

Miss Taylor had better not have taken that dumb Wizard's advice and begun handing out business cards to random people...

Also, damn what the hell was this girl eating, she was built like a brick house! Muscular and strong, but with curves in all the right places. I guess I could ignore her horrible timing if I could manage to get some alone time with her later. You could bounce a coin off that ass and kill a man at twenty meters. My assessment of her assets was ended with a very forceful cough. Right, people tended to get mad when you ogled them. I kept forgetting, really~.

"Can I help you?" I asked politely, attempting to make up for my faux pas.

"Is this the home of Taylor Hebert?"

"Yes, it is."

"Would you be her servant?"

"I…have been called that, yes."

"Let her know that Alexandria wishes to speak with her."

'Miss Taylor, what do you call those weird people who wear silly costumes?' I sent over our bond.

'...Cosplayers?'

Hmmm, well that sounded about right. 'Yes! Well, there is one of them at the door.'

'…is it something I should be concerned with?'

I looked the woman up and down again, paying a bit more attention than before. 'Not as far as I can tell. Not getting any magical vibes from her. She was just asking for you.'

I thought about sending a dig about an attractive woman asking for you, but Miss Taylor wasn't feeling well. I could save that for later, when Danny was home.

'Then I'm busy.'

"Sorry she's busy, come back later." I said with a polite smile, and took a great deal of pleasure in slamming the door shut right in her face.


	11. Chapter 10

Now I could have drawn out the reveals and secrets for a dozen more chapters, leaking small hints here and there to the AU elements like I've been doing. Including slightly altered characters from worm, getting all the people in a tizzy about what was going on. Perhaps even slipping the sly comment or two in response to questions, to lead everyone down the wrong trail. Fuck that. This is me throwing all my cards on the table so I can advance the plot and enjoy the setting I created. Nearly everything will get explained here. Besides no one ever notices the subtle AU elements I throw in anyway...

Also, boring chapter incoming. Next one will be back to nonsense, head-butts and fun. Like I said, this will be the point where everything could fall apart and people stop reading, unless I manage to keep this shit together.

-

The "cosplayer" at the door apparently wasn't happy about being shut out, as she gave five knocks. I knew this, because even in my room I felt the reverberations that the hits sent through the house. The first thought I had was that god had decided, "wouldn't it be funny to bring my vengeance on Taylor by killing her the same way she killed those people"? It took a few seconds after the last knock ended that I realized, no, I wasn't about to die. This wasn't a sudden reversal of what I had done. Luckily, I was quick on my feet and had a pretty good hunch on what was happening, and who I could blame this on.

'Koa. What was that?' The subtext of "what did you do" was left unsaid, but I felt was plenty apparent.

'I told her you were busy Miss Taylor. I guess she thought it was urgent, wanted to get your attention and decided to knock.'

Ugh, that stupid little…whatever. I paused the game and dragged myself to my feet, feeling the exertion I had put my body through today. Well, maybe not really put it through, I hadn't done much, but everything was crying out against movement. All I really wanted to do was rot my brain with some colorful graphics and upbeat music until I forgot about what I did.

I wasn't exactly feeling my best but handling delicate social interactions was not something I wanted to leave up to Koa. Especially not when the woman could huff and puff and knock my house down. God, wouldn't that be the end to a shitty day. How would I even begin to explain that to dad? I sighed and floated downstairs. I shot Koa a glare, which she didn't even flinch at, and I opened the door.

Yep, I wasn't sure what I should be encountering but this wasn't too far off what I had in mind.

"You aren't here about that cult in California are you?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What?"

"Never mind, I think I'm jumping to a conclusion here. I thought I knew what was going on, but obviously not. Who are you?"

"I am Alexandria."

"No but, _who_ are you? Why are you here? Why did you just try to knock my house down?"

I somehow managed to avoid giving a glare to Koa at that last one. Obviously Koa had said or done something to annoy this woman but I felt I should give her the chance to voice what that was. Mostly so I could decide how much I should punish the errant succubus for whatever she did.

"Would you let me come in? It will take a bit of an explanation and I believe your neighbors will find it odd to see me standing on your doorstep until then."

I sighed again. I had a feeling I was going to be doing a lot of that today. Well, if this woman was here to hurt me she already would have gotten that out of the way, judging by her strength. Why put herself at a disadvantage by entering a possibly hostile enemy's house? Plus dad really wouldn't want the neighbors to start asking any questions. Things were already weird enough as it was.

I was too tired for this shit.

"Yea, yea come in. Koa, go grab the tea. It looks like we're going to be having it in the living room."

Koa nodded and headed upstairs as Alexandria walked inside, wiping her boots on the welcome mat. Huh, how polite. I floated off the floor, something she didn't bat an eye at, and we relocated to the living room. I moved my wooden owl off the table, where it had been sitting as our centerpiece, and set it on top of a bookshelf in the corner. I had run out of space in my room, so we had a number of these bookcases in pretty much every room of the house at this point. The two of us settled at the dining room table and at some unspoken agreement waited on my familiar to return before getting into any discussion.

'Miss Taylor, do you want me to poison her cup of tea? We could kill her before she tries to start any trouble.'

'No! Koa! What the fuck!'

I dropped my head into my hands, grimacing and cursing my stupid familiar. It took a second to remember I wasn't alone. Alexandria was looking at me with a very odd expression and I tried to smooth back my features as best I could. "Sorry, I'm not feeling the best right now. I thought my illness was in recession earlier but I ended up exerting myself too much and…" I ended that with a shrug, I didn't know what else to say. How to explain what I did to this woman.

It might have been a trick of the light but I thought for a second Alexandria's mouth tightened just a bit. Maybe a grimace, maybe a reaction, maybe I was seeing things. It was hard to tell though, her helmet covered most of her face. I wanted to ask her to take it off but I felt like it would be a bit rude. I mean, she was already being rude, wearing a hat inside and all, but Koa did just try to kill her, even if she wasn't aware of it. I could make a concession for her hat. "I'm sorry to hear that. I will try to make this quick. If you are too ill, we could always reschedule, but it is something incredibly important. I believe it would be best for both of us to discuss it now."

"It's fine, I'm just not at my best right now. I can get through a conversation."

Thankfully, Koa came back downstairs to end the awkward direction this conversation was taking. She placed the tray on the table before taking a seat, the one between the two of us. I shot her a glare and she sighed theatrically before standing up and relocating behind me. Better. She could get a seat when she learned to act like a normal person.

"So…let's start at the beginning I guess. Who are you?"

"Alexandria, but that name would mean very little to you I imagine."

She wasn't wrong. I was fairly certain, even with the limited amount of contacts I had managed to acquire, if she was someone important I should have heard of her.

"I'm a superhero and would like your assistance in saving the world."

It took a second for what she said to register, but when it did I gave her a "do you think I'm stupid" look. Because seriously, did she think I was stupid? That was so cliché and unspecific. Like something you'd read in a bad comic book. I mean sure, it spoke to the part of me that un-ironically enjoyed watching cheesy shows and awful movies, but I wasn't about to start living my life like that. Apparently she could tell my skepticism just through the face I was making as she hastened to continue.

"If you will let me explain before drawing your own conclusions." I decided to humor her and nodded. "Thank you. I'll give you a bare bones explanation, try to hurry through this. Around twenty years ago a being came to our notice. A golden man who called himself Scion. Just being in his presence could heal disease." _That_ got my attention. "Benevolent, powerful, godlike." She trailed off here, as if looking for more ways to explain him. I got the general idea so I decided to keep us on track.

"…But?"

"He isn't human." This might have had more effect if I wasn't beginning to associate with nonhumans more and more. "He and his counterpart came to Earth to hold a...let's say experiment. They travel constantly, to different worlds across different realities, and bestow powers on a world's residents. Powers that come from traumatizing experiences. Their plan is to produce conflict, in order to use humanity as a testing ground for their powers and abilities. After they have finished their little experiment they wipe the planet clean, killing everyone to regain these powers and then move on to the next planet. I represent a group called Cauldron. A secret agency that is working to make sure that does not happen. My associates and I work to reduce conflict, stabilize society, integrate those with powers into it, and make sure we can fight off Scion when the time comes."

A pretty grim picture if it was to be believed. I had plenty of questions but held off on it as Alexandria was obviously getting into the story. Besides, my questions would only be important if I ended up believing what she was saying.

"I have a work acquaintance, Contessa, who has the power to accomplish anything that she sets her mind to. Absolutely anything. It was how we killed Scions counterpart, Eden, but in her death throes this counterpart blinded Contessa's power towards certain obstacles. Ensured she would never be able to find a way to kill Scion the way she killed Eden. Still, her abilities are fully functional aside from a few glaring blind spots. We use her to plot different courses to ensure a better chance at humanities survival. She is always working, always vigilant, always doing what she can to ensure we have a reasonable chance at winning the final fight we are headed towards. A few months ago, she was testing out new paths to victory, seeing if she couldn't find a specific wording or roundabout way to perhaps gain a better clue at ways to kill Scion. Perhaps give us just that much of a better chance at hurting him. Something that would put us that little bit closer to victory. One of these paths proved exceedingly promising. It was not a direct path to killing him, but seemed to work well towards creating things that would manage to hurt something _like_ him. Many of the ideas on it were hopeless, not helpful in the long term. She looked at all the steps down this path and why to do them, but what surprised her was that several steps on this path were completely abnormal compared to the others. Normally, steps would include funding research into certain fields of study or getting two people together to synchronize their powers. These abnormal steps mainly included arranging for books to fall into the hands of a teenage girl."

"Me." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, you."

It…well it made a little too much sense. I was surrounded by books, some ancient, others exceedingly rare. They all had come in handy in one way or another. Almost all bought at used book stores and bargain sales. All of them used by me at some point in time to further my own abilities. Koa had managed to find some through normal means, but when I had just been starting off…I mean, I knew I had gotten lucky. There was no way any of these books _should_ be in Brockton Bay. So exceedingly unlikely…

"So what, I've just been an experiment? You've been building me up to fight this monster I haven't even heard about? You've been working from the shadows to mess around with my life? Figure out how best to turn me into a child soldier for some cause I wasn't even aware of?"

I was getting too excited. Just thinking about this, all these implications. These nasty, horrible implications. How much of my life for the last few months had been built up around me? How much had been natural? I was feeling boxed in. It was getting harder to breath.

"Not entirely, you have been working with your powers on your own. We have mainly kept a hands off policy, but I will not deny, it has always been a hope that you would come to our side. It was why we had Contessa begin interference with you in the first place. We have maneuvered certain events in order to aim you towards that chance, to have you lean faster."

I wasn't really registering what she was saying. It was too much, it all felt overwhelming. I'd been groomed all this time? Watched over by some super-secret shady agency bent on saving the world? How many actions were mine and which were ones I'd been tricked into? No, no, no. This was not what I wanted to hear. I tried to stand up and walk, I needed to move, to get out, but my legs started cramping and I tripped, going down with a cry. The belly flop onto my already upset stomach had me dry heaving, which got me coughing and oh god I was doing this in front of somebody else. I wiped away the wet spots forming on my face.

Fuck. I was so fucked up.

I went through a few deep breaths to try and get my body to calm down. It worked, to some extent. Before I knew it, I was already being helped to my feet by two very strong hands.

"You're fine, you're fine." Alexandria hushed in a gentle tone.

She carried me gently over to my chair and set me down, Koa hovering over her shoulder the whole way with a concerned look on her face. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?" Alexandria asked.

"No, I'm fine." I muttered. I wasn't coughing but it was a bit harder to breath. That was ok. I was ok. I could work through this. I lifted myself off the chair and begun floating towards the bathroom. "Sorry, I'll be right back. Let me just wash my face. I'm fine."

I made a hasty retreat, though I was somewhat loath to do so. I didn't like appearing weak in front of others, but I really needed to get out of the room after that, get my bearings back together. Try and cool myself down.

Luckily, the owl containing my guardian spirit was still sitting in the room. Not as useful as Koa but connected enough for me to use it as my eyes and ears. I disassociated myself _just_ enough to get a clear picture of what was going on through its eyes. Alexandria was sitting down at the table again and Koa stood across from her. "Is she always like this?" Alexandria asked. She was concerned, this time it was far more evident in her voice and body language.

It was hard to tell what Koa was thinking. "Miss Taylor's illness is better some days, worse others. We have theorized it is tied in some way to her magic but," She shrugged here, "we aren't too sure. I try my best to take care of her but I can only do so much. But Miss Taylor doesn't let it impede her. She's a strong woman."

Alexandria smiled at this. It was a sad smile. "I can tell. I hope that our assistance hasn't made things worse for her. She reminds me of…never mind. If she wishes for us to end our involvement, we will leave. I cannot stand to see someone injured like that hurt more, especially by our actions. We've done out best assist her. I would hope she would join but…" Alexandria shook her head.

Koa was at least smiling after she heard that. A smile that slowly morphed into a grin. Then she got _that glint_ in her eyes. It was a glint I knew far too well. "So, do you have anyone at home? A boyfriend or husband perhaps?"

Koa was not as suave as she thought.

"I am married to my work, you could say." Alexandria seemed uncomfortable discussing this and I couldn't tell whether it was the topic itself or Koa that was causing her distress. Likely, it was both.

Koa winked at her and then she started…are you kidding me? Koa was doing that creepy thing where she licked her lips with both tongues simultaneously, the two tongues twirling in alternate directions. "So, no one at home huh? Must be lonely. Well, I would always love to help keep a beautiful woman's bed warm. Have you ever been with a succubus before? You know we have two tongues for-."

A book to the face ended that conversation.

Fortunately for both me and Alexandria (and possibly my house) the bookcase in the room sported numerous books layered with enchantments to increase sturdiness. Plenty of things for me to use as ammunition. I sent one book shooting out to impact her forehead. Cut that conversation off quick. Then another. And another. And another. A stream of books came smashing into Koa from multiple angles, sending her airborne for a bit as forces from a dozen directions juggled her around the dining room before I let her come tumbling down.

I had been stupid to think it was ok to leave her alone for even a second.

I returned to myself and splashed water on my face before floating back to the room as quickly as possible. By the time I got back Koa was still lying face down on the floor and Alexandria looked at least a little more relaxed.

At least, I think she was more relaxed. I suppose attacking books could be a little disconcerting. I'm sure she wasn't worried; she seemed like the sturdy sort. I think she could take a hit or two.

I was too, surprisingly. What I had heard had put me a little more at ease around her.

"I'm sorry about that, can we get back on track?" I said, pretending I didn't notice Koa playing possum. It took a second to reorganize my thoughts, to get back to the questions that had been percolating in my head throughout that discussion.

"Fine, so you may have helped me out, but I'm not saying I buy everything you've said. Why haven't I heard of you? Heard of this? I'm new, but I'm not that new. I should have at least gotten hints about this "Scion" about you or your group. I haven't even heard of superheroes before except from comic books, unless that's just the theme you're going with now to throw me off. If it is, I gotta say that's kind of a dick move for someone trying to recruit me."

"You haven't heard of me because I come from another world."

Two for two with cheesy clichéd lines. At least this one wasn't making me have an existential crisis.

Yet.

"Hypothetically, let's say I think that sounds like bullshit."

"If it would help erase your doubts, we would be happy to take you on a short tour of our world. Prove it isn't bullshit."

I took a look at Koa. I really didn't know what to say here. "Miss Taylor, if it is an issue, I can always take a short trip there. I am the expert between us on traveling between planes. I can give an accurate assessment of what appears to be going on, and perhaps gather a few books to fact check what she has said."

I looked back at Alexandria who just nodded. "Door me." She said.

A portal opened up to the left of us and without even a look to see where it led, Koa stepped through. It closed behind her. I managed to get the barest glimpse of what looked like an empty street before it was gone.

'Koa?'

'Definitely a different plane. Different reality, though not much different. Possibly a split somewhere further down your timeline that branched off. Things are fairly consistent in terms of physics and metaphysics. I'll take a look, see if I can't dig up any dirt on Scion or what the hell is going on here. Shouldn't take too long, they dropped me right outside a library.'

'Good. Keep me posted.'

I turned my attention back to Alexandria. "My familiar says that, so far, your story seems to check out, so I'll listen. What is going on? How could I help with this? I'm just one person. I'm strong, but not strong enough to take down a god."

"It's as simple as this: we are fighting a war and losing. Badly. Scion is not the only thing that threatens our world. We could possibly do well enough on our own were it not for a very large hangup. Three beings called Endbringers have made it their task to set about destroying humanity. Attacking city by city every four months, doing their best to kill and disrupt everything, especially every parahuman that comes to stop them. Corrupting minds, burying cities, killing millions of people. Entire countries have been decimated, unable to recover economically or otherwise from just one attack by them. It is estimated over the course of the next decade, we will simply lose. Humanity will be unable to hold up against them. They simply wipe out too many people. It has been the biggest thing blocking our attempts at building up forces and, humanity in general, in order to fight Scion."

I sent Koa the idea to look up something about these Endbringers, more focused on listening to Alexandria talk than wanting to issue direct orders.

"We are losing capes by the hundreds to the Endbringers, to the villains willing to hurt anyone for some sick pleasure. The only thing holding back any sort of war between heroes and villains is an unwritten code about what you should and shouldn't do. Only loosely held in place by the fear of what would happen if it broke down and these Endbringers were allowed to run rampant. So far nothing we have come across has been able to help us fight them back. Nothing able to do any permanent harm. However, we are forced to work at this through the powers these entities have given us. Powers that have likely been designed so that they cannot achieve their full potential, to make sure we cannot fight back against these unbeatable foes. You have a power we have never seen, cannot even understand. Even through powered means. This makes me believe what we are fighting cannot understand it either. You could be the one to actually do lasting damage to these things. You could be the one we need for us to stop the Endbringers, stop our world's slow decline, stop Scion."

Damn, this woman could really give a speech once she got herself going. If I had to guess, she had to be someone pretty high up in the superhero community. And…well…she wasn't wrong. I could see the logic here. These powers likely operated on certain principles and ideas. Bound by certain constraints, even if they could work around the physics of our universe. I just didn't have enough information, there was a lot of stuff here to take in and this was a very bare bones explanation. Theoretically, I may be able to find something that would work well against these beings. It wasn't like I was stuck with one power, like the flash or spider man. I could alter my magic to best work against certain attacks, certain enemies, or summon something to assist me in battle. Also, something was just niggling at the back of my head, an idea I couldn't quite voice but was just waiting to burst off my tongue.

Suddenly the space next to us burst into flames. Alexandria and I were instantly on guard, only for Koa to materialize. Alexandria looked at me, floating, surrounded by a ring of stones, which had burst out of corners and crevices. I stared at her, floating and in what I was certain was a martial arts stance. "Her story checks out Miss Taylor." Koa responded, throwing several newspapers and a book at me. I obviously couldn't catch any of that but a minor bout of levitation had them settle down gently on the table. I would take a look at them later.

"Thank you Koa. Maybe next time warn me before you make a sudden reappearance?"

She gave a sloppy salute. Typical.

Alexandria and I settled back down in our seats. Fortunately that little outburst gave me enough sense to put together what had been bugging me.

"Your acquaintance. The one who can accomplish anything."

"Yes?"

"Why are you here and not her?"

Alexandria frowned, obviously not happy with the direction I was taking this conversation towards. That meant I had hit something important. "She is unfortunately busy with something at the moment."

"No. No way. You just said I might be playing an important role in taking out this huge threat, but you don't send the person who for sure could get me on your side? What could possibly be more important?"

Alexandria's frown worsened but she apparently decided being open and honest was a better avenue to take. I guess earning my trust was more crucial than trying to bullshit some excuse to get me off of her case. "She is beginning to have trouble tracking you. As I mentioned, there are certain things she is unable to predict, unable to watch for. Slowly you have begun to veer off what her ability is able to keep track of. Her ability can still create paths around you, but you react in an entirely different way than what she was expecting. She has only been able to keep a somewhat accurate track of you because we have found someone _very_ similar to you that we can base your thought process off of. She is somewhat reliant on her power in order to adapt to different situations, and with this problem we decided that someone else should be the one to talk to you in case her power negatively affects this conversation."

I gave a look at Koa. Alexandria wasn't being incredibly upfront about how this person's ability works, which may be because she wasn't quite aware, but I didn't have a clue how I could be blocking it. Perhaps Koa had a better idea what was going on. I knew that I hadn't done anything to block a telepath or a seer from interacting with me, or predicting my movements. Though, now that I'm thinking about it, perhaps that is exactly something I should be working on. Koa noticed my stare and I got a shrug back. "It's probably magic. These powers seem to work on the natural world I would assume. Magic is something beyond that. It likely can't account for it."

That was something Alexandria seemed to pay a strict attention to. "Would her abilities then be more effective on those with powers? Able to easily stop them if it came down to it?"

"Uhhh, maybe?" Koa trailed off, thinking. "I mean, magic isn't being predicted by it but there's a lot more than magic at play here. I mean, you're using super strength or whatever and I'm pretty sure you could break my head open just fine. It would depend heavily on the power and the method of magic used. Perhaps the way it effects reality. The different interactions between magic and powers...I would basically be guessing if I tried to give an explanation without testing first."

I decided to focus us back on topic.

"So then she determined, if she wasn't the best person to convince me, you were?"

"Basing a comparison off of your counterpart, yes, we believed with a good certainty I would be the best to convince you.

"Well then, convince me. Why should I help you guys out? I don't even live on this world, never met a single person on it. You've been manipulating me before I even knew who you were. Why risk my life for this?"

It sounded cold, heartless as it left my lips. I didn't like saying it but I wasn't going to be tricked into risking my life for someone who just came knocking on my door. I didn't know what I was going to hear. I just needed something. Something to push me into it. I felt guilty enough about killing twenty people. What about not helping, and letting twenty million die?

"Because you seem like a good person. And this would be the right thing to do."

Ouch. Way to hit me right where it hurts.

"If I am wrong, and you are more selfish than I thought? There is a high likelihood that once Scion is done attacking our world, he could move on to yours. With the loss of his counterpart his actions are likely to become erratic, unpredictable. We are going to attack him, with or without your help. If we fail, he will destroy our world and will come for other Earth's as a form of revenge for killing his counterpart. He could come to destroy your world, and you wouldn't be given the foreknowledge on him coming until it was too late. You wouldn't be prepared and I was deadly serious when I said that he was godlike in terms of power. And if it makes any difference, you would be bringing hope to a world that has precious little of it. Saving possibly billions of lives in the process. Proving yourself against some of the deadliest foes ever imagined. It would be a learning experience. Perhaps a way to come into your powers without the worry of hurting anyone on your own world."

These were a lot of very good reasons. A lot of good reasons tailor-made for me. I would have to take a guess that Contessa's ability to use her powers on me was working a bit better than Alexandria had implied. I could think of plenty of reasons not to go of course. More than the reasons _to_ go. Dangerous. Very dangerous. I was going in blind against a completely unknown enemy, with a group I really couldn't trust, one I also had no knowledge of. Knowledge was the only asset I had on this earth, it was all I could rely on. I had _some_ proof that they were telling the truth, but who knows how many subtle lies Alexandria had sneaked in there. It's not like I could really go asking around about a secret conspiracy.

But, could I really live with myself if I sacrificed a world's worth of lives because I wasn't willing to trust someone?

No, no I couldn't.

"Assuming I agreed, when would you want me to start this? This is a lot to take in, I might need to think about this. I couldn't just leave today. I have a lot of stuff I am currently working on. Plenty of things I would need to set up if I moved over."

"We wouldn't need you to answer now, but we would like you to get acquainted with our world first before making your presence known. While you won't be directly affiliated with the workings of Cauldron, we will be sure to keep in touch and take care of any needs you have. We can set up identification, have you start talking with those in the greater parahuman organizations, set you up with money and accommodations, but we would like you to be settled in before thirty days have passed from now. That will be around the time of the next Endbringer attack and we would like you to be there for it. We wouldn't expect you to pull off a miracle in your first time fighting one, but if you could manage to do something, anything, find some way to use your powers to hurt them, even a hint towards a weakness, it could save _millions_ of lives. It could spell the chance for a future win, something we haven't had against these beings _ever_."

She was trying to recruit me, of course she would phrase all this in ways specifically meant to catch my attention. To tug at my heartstrings. And damn it, it was working. I wasn't obligated to go. I even knew they would back off if I really pushed. I _shouldn't_ go through with this. It wouldn't be hurting me to step away. I had enough pressing issues as it was.

All of these thoughts circulating through my head halted, and the only thing I could really focus on were all the people I'd buried alive over a stupid grudge from a letter. All because I was untrained. Because I wasn't good enough.

"Yea. Alright. I'll do it. I'll at least check out this world, but I'm not making any promises."

"Good. That is all we would ask of you." Alexandria nodded and stood up. "I hope, for all of our sakes, that you will be the one who can hold some key to defeating the Endbringers, defeating Scion. Again, we will keep in touch. Simply call out if you wish to speak with us again. If you need transportation, between this world and ours, we can assist with that."

"I might take you up on that but first I'll ask around, see if there is someone else who could help me. No offense but I would like to keep my options open."

"The offer will remain standing if there are any problems then. Also we would obviously expect you to keep all of this a secret. Many of the things said here are not known by the general public, and should not be known until we have a better grasp of the situation. Contessa will be the one handling any potential leaks and it would be a shame if she had to cover for you accidentally spilling dangerous knowledge."

I nodded. I understood the reason why they would want to keep this a secret. After all, the magical world did about the same thing with most normal people. The general populace couldn't handle that type of knowledge getting out.

"Door me."

A glowing portal opened up in the space in front of Alexandria to an abnormally white, room. She gave me one last nod, then her head tilted a bit and I got the impression she was looking beyond me. She frowned again before the portal closed and she was gone.

I turned around and Koa was making the "call me" gesture with her hand to her ear.

I sighed again.

"Miss Taylor?"

I looked up. Koa had returned to her "not mischievous" look.

"I wanted to talk about how you were feeling but…well I'm sure you have more on your mind now, a lot more. And you weren't feeling well before. I think we should talk soon but if you aren't feeling up to it, we can hold off until another day."

"Thank you Koa." I said with not quite a smile. There was a lot on my mind at the moment, and I possibly made a rash decision due to that little speech Alexandria gave me. It had felt like the right move to make, everything about the scenario just screamed at me to go through with it. I hoped I wasn't making a stupid move.

"Now the only question is, where am I gonna find someone who can make portals between worlds?"

"And that's where I come in." A woman's voice called out from behind me.

I spun around to encounter a smirking blond, half jutting out of a portal, somewhat similar to the one Alexandria walked through. Except instead of a view of what lay beyond, it was a gaping abyss filled with eyes.

"I am the youkai of boundaries, Yukari Yakumo, and I have an offer for you."


	12. Chapter 11

Some quick AN:

gabe. .1997: You have to remember the bullying was going on for a year before Sophia became a ward. Winslow staff just does not care, and it only got worse when she did join. Also shipping died with the boat graveyard which happened before Leviathan. He did not destroy international shipping, as was pointed out to me by someone else.

It was perfect.

The beautiful carpeted floors, the lacquered wooden walls, the darkened interior, optimal temperature conditions for storing paper and, the row upon row of empty bookshelves, ready to be filled. Actually that part wasn't perfect, but soon, soon it would be! To top it all off, I was in very good health! I took in a long, deep breath (afforded the option by my asthma's recession today); the place even smelled like a library. I could live my entire life here. I could spend a hundred years just reading by candle light, getting my meals and more books through Koa.

Well...dad wouldn't be too happy about that. And I guess regular light would be more effective, but it didn't really fit the aesthetic of the place. Eh, that's where magic would fill in the gaps.

This couldn't have been easy to put together. I knew Brockton Bay pretty well, and these old warehouses have been rotting for decades, unused since the time the boat graveyard pretty much killed shipping in the Bay. They would have needed groups of workers to completely redo the whole building. Fix any structural damage, recreate entire sections to my preferences (or at least what they were able to determine my preferences would be through Contessa, damn was her power creepy), and make it habitable for someone to live full time here. Plumbing, cooling, gas, the works. This would have taken at the very least a month or two, which lined up fairly well with when I first came to their notice. Had they really been planning this since they first found out about me? Was this supposed to be a sign of good faith, or something to bribe me with if I wasn't completely on board? Was I over thinking this?

Possibly. All I really knew was that they better have given these jobs to the dockworkers.

Whatever, I could be creeped out by Contessa and angry at their presumptions later. I wasn't going to let anything spoil this moment.

The set up was perfect for my work. While the majority of the room was dominated with bookshelves, a path had been set straight down the center, from the entrance to the far wall, bisecting the library. Tables were interspaced along it, some small some large, but the shining jewel was set directly in the middle. A beautiful, ornate, wooden desk, with a tall, regal chair to sit in. Super comfy too! Pillow backings and everything.

I set a book I had brought with me down on the desk and lay on the floor. God, it was so soft. I could fall asleep on this. I rolled around for a bit, just enjoying this childlike glee. My own place! No one else to bother me, no dad to walk in on me at inappropriate situations, plenty of space to do work and keep all my books right on hand. Perfect. Just perfect.

"Am I interrupting something, Miss Taylor?"

I froze, and slowly floated off the floor into a standing position. During my inspection of my new home, Koa had stepped through the portal carrying boxes overflowing with books, tomes, diaries, and journals. I really couldn't choose which books to leave at the house and which to take with me, so I considered it wisest to take everything. I'm sure dad would be happy with a little less clutter, and if I ever needed a specific book or three while at home, well that was why I had Koa on call. She could hop between dimensions as quick as could be.

"Hello Koa. No, I was just...testing out the durability of our floor. Lots of different things that needed to be determined about my library. Plenty of variables."

"Of course Miss Taylor, of course." Koa walked over to the closest table and set the box down. She took a look around before letting out a long whistle. "Wow, Lexi really set us up."

"Lexi?"

"Now, now Miss Taylor, I can't let you know all my secrets. A succubus doesn't kiss and tell." She said with a dramatic gesture and wink.

Well that was just a straight out lie. I had heard more about her torrid affairs through the ages than I had ever been interested in knowing.

"I highly doubt Alexandria would be interested in anything like that, especially with you. Last I saw, she escaped your clutches after the books I enchanted put a stop to your...advances." Let Koa sit on that thought for a while. Perhaps with a worry of books attacking her at any lewd comment that comes out of her mouth, she might cut down on them. Not likely, but the hope was there. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie; I _had_ enchanted those books, just not with a cease-and-desist function. "Once you're done moving the boxes through the portal, be sure to sort by type and then alphabetize from there. Then start filling up the bookshelves. I want this place to look its best as fast as possible. This is going to be our base of operations after all."

Yukari had pulled through and gotten a portal in place by this morning. I had a feeling she could have set up the portal during our meeting, but chose to do it while I was asleep just to be a creep. Maybe a subtle way of saying not to mess around with her, maybe a show of strength to let me know how easy it would be for her to get revenge if I decided to double cross her. Whatever, I owed the gap demon a few favors and I wasn't going to renege on that.

I could worry about the subtleties of magical politics later, I had more important things to focus on. There was so much to do in this new world, I just didn't know where to begin. Luckily, Alexandria had left me a list, either anticipating how scatter brained I would be, or worried I wouldn't bother to deal with the more pressing matters without some prodding. Both worries with some credence to them. Apparently she had been busy yesterday, because there was a ton of stuff she thought I needed to get done, all outlined in detail with her thoughts on the matter included for reference.

First of all registering with the local justice league, the protectorate, was probably a good idea. I still needed to start looking up laws and figuring out what was and wasn't fine with the local populace. Witch hunts had continued up until not that long ago, if you consider the average life span of a magician. Hopefully they had a helpful pamphlet or two to get me acquainted with what laws I shouldn't be breaking and which ones I could as long as I didn't cause too much of a fuss. I also needed to grab some money form the brand spanking new bank account made for my superhero identity, continue with some research, get through a few books that have been sitting on the backburner, start browsing the local PHO forum (what are the odds? This one even had real life superheroes on it!), find out the local groups of heroes and villains and get acquainted with whatever history happened since Scion showed up.

As you could guess, that list was composed in the order I was planning on doing them. I wasn't really interested in trudging through some boring textbooks on World Politics, even if they did mention an epic battle between superheroes, capes or parahumans as they called them here. Perhaps I'd have Koa plow through a few and then write down the important bits.

With a careful note on what I would classify as important. I wasn't making that mistake again.

Another important note: apparently this world had people who could heal injuries. That little tidbit at the bottom caught my attention rather quickly. Alexandria had already sent off a letter to this woman, Panacea (clever name, very subtle), who I could get in contact with to arrange a doctor's visit and hopefully deal with some of my chronic illnesses. Normally this would be bumped up to the top of my list, but I was feeling particularly well today. I would make note of it. Something to remember on one of my worse days.

In more long term goals, I needed to schedule a meeting with a cape up in Chicago as soon as possible, see if we could work together to synergize our powers. I had hopes for this sort of thing; the powers these capes had seemed odd and out of tune with the world around them. I really wanted to begin studying, figure out what made them tick. Get a better grasp on what they could do and how best to augment, understand and mimic their effects using my own magic. For some reason she wanted me to get in touch with this man in particular; I'm sure she had a good reason and I hoped he would be fertile ground to start my research on.

That same basic set up was the majority of the long term projects recommended for me, at least the ones that didn't involve things I had already been working on before Alexandria's visit. Speaking with a few parahumans here and there to see if my power could help or synergize well with theirs. Perhaps attempt to find ways magic could work right alongside superpowers. It was an intriguing concept, completely undocumented as far as I was aware and the research opportunities called to me like a long lost lover. A field I could really make my mark on, using magical theory on abilities that could lead to unprecedented results and entirely new spells!

But I was getting ahead of myself. Before I got into all that I still needed to do some chores, get everything sorted out. And I was going to finally get to do something I'd yearned for ever since I'd learned my first levitation spell.

I was going to fly.

-

I put on my costume, which was just barely that. I had gotten a surgical mask that covered most of my face and a mob cap that matched my dress (nightgown as Koa put it). Clark Kent eat your heart out. Koa had been good today so I allowed her to accompany me on my outing. Her costume was worse than mine; she wore a similar face mask (look, it was all I could afford with what I had in my wallet) and that was it. Although she made no attempt to hide her wings, which I guess counted as a costume.

Now that I thought about it, her human appearance was more a costume than the reality of what she was. She had more in common with Clark Kent than me, having to take on an alternate persona in order to fit in with the every-man. Ugh, never mind, I was getting distracted. I could worry about this existential nonsense later. Without much delay we were off, flying over my fair city.

Bizarro-Brockton was not what I expected.

I guess I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. Maybe people flying through the sky or giant battles happening downtown, anything to really set it up as Bizarro-world, but not that much was different. I mean, this was my city. This was Brockton Bay. The library, the boardwalk, the Medhall building, hell they even had Fugly Bobs. Everything was so eerily similar that I could almost forget I was in a whole other world. There were just a couple things separating this from the Brockton Bay I knew and loved.

For one, it didn't have a Taylor Hebert until a few hours ago.

For the second, there were a bunch of weirdos in silly costumes running around, fighting each other. Maybe not on as grand a scale as I would have liked, but they were there. I guess that remark could also be applied to my world, but the weirdos there were wearing wizard robes and medieval armor, not masks and spandex. Completely different.

It was like a painting of a scene compared to a photo. For all the similarities, it was a skewed copy of the original. The area just seemed more run down, more decrepit. This was the stark difference between a city that was slowly dying and one that had already passed and just hadn't had the decency to lay down and rest. Everyone was hunched just a little bit lower, the weight of the world just that much more of a burden. Their worries so deep, that they had begun to manifest in how the populace held themselves. The worse areas were much, much worse, and the rich areas only stood out as a greater contrast.

I guess it was a bit harder to root out gangs when the Red Skull and his legion of Neo-Nazis were messing up the city. And I had also heard something about a dragon, a real life dragon running a gang! I wasn't too sure on the details, I really needed to look up some more things about the state of this world's Brockton Bay.

I was honestly kind of surprised I was allowed to just move in without some long talk on responsibilities or who to watch out for. I guess they would want me performing and working where I would be the most comfortable, but Brockton was a shithole even before you got supervillain gangs involved.

Or perhaps they thought having me reminded every day of what I was fighting for would be a good way to keep me focused. Well, I have to admit, it was working. The stakes were made a little more apparent, a little more _real_ , when it was your own city dying in front of you, rather than just a number listed at you. I was starting to see why Alexandria, who was apparently a pretty big deal here, would come out to some random girl's house on a different reality just off the _hope_ she could do something, anything, to help.

Well they didn't need to worry, their trust was in good hands.

I would be getting to work just as soon as I was done strafing the downtown skyline.

Ok look, I realize I had a lot of things to get started on but all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. Sure, I could be getting in contact with the "protectorate" or start researching the minute differences in magical potential here, but this was something I could _never_ do on my world. A lot of magical acts could be covered up, have the general populace convinced they were tricks or that there must be some other explanation, but _no one_ could mistake a person flying through the air. Newspapers would get wind of it, other magic users would start asking questions, and I would get in a ton of trouble.

Here though, I was just a new cape. The skies were mine and let me tell you, there is nothing more relaxing than soaring through the clouds, looking down on the average man, the wind in your face, the sun overhead.

This was freedom.

My method of levitation wasn't well suited to traveling fast, but the leisurely pace I got around the city was good enough for me, and far faster than walking. I didn't need to break the speed of sound to have some fun; if distance was a problem, that's what portals were for.

My fun little trip ended quicker than I would have liked. Well, maybe that was for the best. It was all well and good to fly around, but I did need to get registered before the wrong person started asking questions. I didn't know if I needed a flyers permit, or some equally obnoxious bureaucratic nonsene, to fly around the city. With the lay of the land thoroughly mapped out (another reason to bring Koa, once she knew something she _knew_ it) the two of us stopped at our first destination: the Brockton Bay Central Bank.

Also something to keep in mind for later ventures: apparently a cape floating down out of the sky is akin to a celebrity pulling up in a limo. People were pulling out phones and recording us before we even landed and, while no one seemed brave enough to come up and harass us for autographs, we had a group of people following after us. Was this what I was going to have to put up with every time I came out for a little bit of money? Next time I am coming out as Taylor. What do I care; my dad was at work in a whole different dimension. This costume stuff was more humoring Alexandria more than to conceal my secret identity.

It only got worse when we entered the bank.

Now apparently, if you walk into a bank with masks on the security thinks that you're some kind of threat. Especially when it is obvious that one of you isn't quite normal or human. Absurd, I know, but easily resolved. A quick chat with a man, gun at the ready for all the good it would do against Koa, and we got in line for a teller.

Someone else in this super-secret organization called the Number Man had set up an account for me. He had opted for my superhero persona possessing the money because at the moment my real life identity didn't exist. They were still working on getting together a passable ID and forging documents for me. Still, I wanted to check out how much money they had seen fit to send me. I needed to buy groceries, and maybe a book or two. I'm sure an interesting new world like this would have a few books worth checking out. I was hoping for enough money to afford groceries and other amenities for a few months. I was wrong.

To put it simply, I was loaded.

Well maybe not _loaded_ , loaded, but I had enough money to last me a damn long time. Enough to not bother myself with looking for a job or having Koa sell gold illegally through pawn store owners she charms. I could even have her stop robbing gang members now!

I should keep that in mind, something else I would have to check the legality of when we got signed up.

I withdrew enough money to last us through the month and we headed out. The next step on our outing indeterminate. While finding this Panacea sounded like a good plan for long term health benefits, I also didn't want to find myself on the wrong side of the law. Sure, Alexandria could fix any legal trouble I ran into, but it would leave a bad first impression to the local superheroes. I didn't want a stain on my career already and it would be a little difficult to move that whole library to a more understanding city. Koa swerved around a rather mousy girl in a hood as we made a route for the exit. Yes, getting registered was probably the best way to go forward.

Just as we passed through the door and began walking outside, a vicious series of barks emitted from the back of the bank. Koa and I moved just a little bit faster, attempting to ignore the noises. I knew the same thought was running through our heads; dogs had the ability to sense evil and Koa wasn't anywhere close to a "good" alignment. Setting off a bunch of security dogs could be embarrassing and tie us up for a little bit. Definitely longer than the chat about our costumes.

Maybe if we played it off as discrimination…

I took a glance back to see if anyone was following us, but no, the door remained shut. I also noticed the windows were covered in a black sheen, some darkness that made it impossible to see what was going on inside. Ok, well, that certainly didn't seem normal. Koa took a look too, the two of us looked at each other, and then we continued walking. We rounded a corner and decided to have a quick discussion.

"I'm going to be really busy today." I noted to Koa. I should point out that I _noted_ this fact, I did not whine.

"It's not our problem, we aren't even sure what that might have been." She said back to me.

I nodded along. "Right, that could have been anything. Maybe we just misheard what was going on."

"I believe those windows were like that when we walked in. Some tinted windows, a few dogs barking and we're acting like the bank is getting robbed."

"You're right, it's just some nerves. Makes sense after they stopped us like that."

Morals sufficiently secured, we lifted off and headed to the second stop of our day: the protectorate headquarters. Then, after twenty minutes circling around the force field, and ten minutes speaking with a security guard at the beach-front checkpoint, we were off to the PRT headquarters.

Seriously, how was I supposed to know where to sign up? The giant blue beacon seemed like a pretty obvious hall of justice.

The PRT building was located after a bit of flying (surprisingly it was the building with the giant PRT logo on it) and we found our way inside. I had a nice conversation with a woman at a desk who, after a few concerned smiles at some of my questions, handed us a bunch of paperwork to register with the protectorate and a series of pamphlets to help condense the ideas contained in the reams of paperwork down into something almost understandable. The stack looked much more intimidating than it really was, especially since it was effectively doubled, having to register two parahumans.

I had decided to register Koa as a Case 53. It had been the only option outlined by Alexandria's letter that seemed sensible. Koa's anatomy wasn't truly human and anyone who took a look deeper than a cursory glance would realize her body should not function the way that it does. There are very few non-Case 53s who have such a messed up biology beyond their control, so it seemed a smart move to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. It also might help explain her lack of family and general inability to conform to normal human interaction (at least I hoped it would). As well, if I had gone for the other option, admitting she was a projection created by me, than I would be the one held accountable for any shenanigans she got herself into. Hahaha, no. That was not happening. Koa was now a Case 53 I had found shortly after I had triggered, and made good friends with.

A quick glance through the paperwork showed it outlined laws, benefits of signing with the protectorate, different ways in which we were required to work with law enforcement, and a number of ways we would and would not be held accountable for breaking laws, fighting, or using our powers. It was horrendous to look at and was almost as bad as the paperwork I had Koa sign during our first interaction.

Speaking of that…

I gave Koa a look, then looked back at the papers, gave Koa a look, then looked back at the papers. It took her a moment, but she begun to realize what thought was running through my head.

"Miss Taylor, please, no. I swear, I'll be good for a whole week. Please don't make me do this." Her eyes darted to the paperwork and back to my face, crocodile tears leaking out. She clasped her hands under her chin, attempting to look as pitiful as possible. "I couldn't even get through the contract you made me sign, please I'm begging you, don't make me do this."

Unfortunately for Koa, I still remembered the shower prank she had pulled on me last week.

I showed no mercy.

Koa spent several hours wiping away tears, complaining to herself and browsing through complex legalese, while I read through a few books I had brought with me. It never hurt to be prepared, and I was well enough to carry them around. We kept getting the odd look every time someone new entered the building but it wore off pretty quickly. I assume, unlike with the bank, masked heroes were much more common here than just waltzing around in everyday life.

The odd looks were really the only things I noticed, before I got too caught up in my book. It was just theory, nothing as concrete as some of my other spell books, but the ideas! Synthesizing elements in order to empower an attack between the two. Well obviously I knew of that, the elements were a pentagram for a reason; one element contributed to another while weakening a third. But combining different elements, elements that should be incompatible! Combining more than two different elements into one attack! No, I couldn't bother to pay attention to what was happening around me. In fact, it took several different pokes, shakes, and a few yells of "Miss Taylor!" before I realized several hours had passed since we first sat down.

By the time I finally looked up, the paperwork had completed itself. "Good work Koa," I said to the bedraggled succubus. She just offered a low shuddering moan in return (the pained, heartbroken kind).

I gathered up the assorted forms, did a quick check to make sure they had all been properly filled out, and headed up to the woman at the front desk. It was a different woman this time, which just goes to show how long I had been engrossed in my studies, but she had apparently been briefed on our reason for being there. Or at least deduced it on her own after I handed the paperwork to her. We exchanged a few short words but there wasn't really much left for us to do here. Not unless I wanted to meet one of the higher-ups, which I did not. I still had a library to furnish and a book to finish.

"Alright Koa, I think it's time to head ho-." I cut myself off. I was talking to no one; my succubus was missing.

Luckily, a quick scan of the room located her; there weren't that many people walking around with two pairs of devil wings. One problem solved; new problem, she was talking to someone in blue power armor. I was pretty sure the man had to be important and was entirely sure he was a super hero; I didn't see any of the other soldiers in the room wearing something nearly as intricate or eyecatching as what he had.

God, she was like a child: acting out when you made her do chores. I hurried over, dread growing as I caught the middle of whatever conversation she had managed to draw this man into. Koa was running her hands through her hair, curling it into little rings at the bottom.

"So that's a nice weapon you have there, long, hard and... _durable_."

The man just scowled, attempting to move around her, towards the elevator she was standing in front of. She just strafed with him. "Yes, my halberd comes equipped with a number of different tools and functions to suit the various needs I have while patrolling the city. It also must have a high durability in order to be combat effective towards parahumans with brute ratings."

I wasn't sure whether he was trying to act incredulous towards her obvious advances or hoped being boring would drive her away. A pathetic attempt at best. Koa would not be so easily subdued. The only way I had found to combat her remarks was to ignore everything she said, and even that had a partial success rate.

"Mmm, well I'm always interested in _big_ , _long_ weapons wielded by nice, strong men."

Throughout the short snippets of conversation the man's frown only got worse and worse. I really hoped he did not have a girlfriend; a super powered lover out for Koa's head would not end well.

"If you continue blocking me, you might find out how effective I can wield it."

"Oooo, how forward~. Well if you're ever looking for a sheath to-ahhhhh!"

I had decided to intervene by grabbing Koa's ear and pulling her down to my level. Now admittedly that wasn't that much shorter than her normal height, but when someone grabs your ear and pulls it, they really do _grab_ your attention.

"I apologize!" I spoke promptly and loudly, sure to get my voice over Koa's annoyed screech of pained surprise. "I hope my associate has not been bothering you Mr…"

"Armsmaster." Asking his name seemed to have only made him angrier, which I hadn't thought possible. His scowl just seemed to become more intense. It was a little hard to tell, he was continuing the trend of helmets covering almost the entire face, but I knew, I just instinctively _knew_ , he wasn't happy.

"Yes, Armsmaster, I am very sorry. I hope she did not interrupt anything important. Koa. We are leaving. Now."

"Aww really Miss Taylor?" My face accepted no rebukes. "Alright then, I'll see you around later hunk." She said with a few winks and nudges to the ribs.

I offered Armsmaster a series of apologies before dragging Koa off towards the exit, her pleas to release her ear from my grasp firmly ignored. He didn't move, didn't even nod, just stood stoically, watching the two of us walk off. His frown did not alleviate by an inch. Not until we were almost out the door did he finally let out a sigh, pronouncing his judgment on Koa.

"At least she isn't worse than Mouse Protector."


	13. Chapter 12

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 **Topic: New Capes in Brockton**  
 **In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay**  
 **Bagrat** (Original Poster) (The Guy in the Know)(Veteran Member)  
Posted On Apr 14th 2011:  
So, for those who haven't seen the twenty threads about them today, we have two new capes in Brockton. I think we've all had enough of the "I snapped a picture of these two any idea who they are" threads so I decided it was best to make one thread to consolidate the discussion on them and have all the images in one place.

There isn't a whole lot out there at the moment, but don't worry I'm not starting this thread off with nothing. Some of my contacts at the PRT have let me know they just signed up as rogues. The woman with wings calls herself Koakuma and the brown haired girl is Patchouli. Koakuma is a case 53 brute with teleportation and Patchouli is a grab bag with powers controlling the elements.

It seems they are pretty new in the bay, and recent capes in general as there have been no sightings of them before. All we have are the photos from them at the Brockton Central bank, flying above the city and at the PRT building. Now speculate and argue at your discretion.

 **(Showing page 1 of 7)**

 **►CrazyCarl**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
First! Well, glad to hear Bagrat on top of things as usual. Also happy to hear we have some new heroes in the bay. With lung behind bars it would suck to hear we got another gang trying their worm their way onto the local scene.

 **►FoundPlayer2**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Don't have much to contribute, but got a few pics I posted in a different thread

[Photo 1]  
[Photo 2]  
[Photo 3]  
[Photo 4]

 **►Kdog_alpha**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Huh, pretty rare to hear of a group with a case 53 outside the Protectorate. Only one I know of is Faultline's crew and from what I've heard, she found them by accident.

 **►Professor Cadmius**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Control the elements seems a little vague for a power. Like, is she running around throwing fireballs and water whips around? Is she able to redirect or control the space around her as long as it isn't alive? Hopefully we'll see her in action soon to get a grasp on what she's capable of.

Also what kind of a name is Patchouli?

 **►KnowledgeAndPower** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Hello everyone! Wow, you guys work fast, I came on here to start a thread about myself but there was already one here.

Prof: I originally intended to be called Knowledge but apparently that name has been taken over a dozen times. Instead we chose something more in line with the mystical nature of my powers.

Anyway, yes I am a "grab bag" cape, with a variety of different abilities, mainly focusing on elemental control as understood by Wu Xing, and as manifested through the seven luminary system. The spells and abilities are brought about from the environments around me and generally follow understood physics, but I can alter them to bring about more esoteric effects. I have a few other powers, but those are more situational.

I came across Koa soon after I gained my powers and helped her acclimate. We have been friends ever since. She has a few more powers not mentioned such as a "stranger" ability to block attempts at scrying our future. I wonder why these were not noted in your report? I'm certain we put that down on the PRT form.

At the moment, the two of us aren't sure where we fit into Brockton, but have decided to make it our home. We have set up a library for myself in the warehouse district. I will be away on business more often than not but am happy to receive visitors who have given me notice of their arrival. You can get my contact info from the PRT. Any questions you have we'd be happy to respond to.

 **►B4a**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Alright you lost me. Wu Xing and the Seven what? Sounds like some of those old comics that used to come out of japan.

Edit: searched this, apparently it's some kind of Asian religious stuff. So you have five powers? Seven? Either way ABB isn't gonna be happy about a new Asian themed cape running around.

 **►Dusk Moon**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
power classification in quotes  
scrying our future  
claims her powers are based around some kinda religion  
refers to powers as spells  
Anyone know if Myrddin has a daughter

 **►TheBlueLady**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
A grab bag of shaker powers and a brute that teleports? I got a feeling someone is gonna find themselves outmatched by the gangs. Even with the ABB hurting, no way Empire is gonna put up with that.

Edit: Wasn't Brockton Central robbed by the Undersiders yesterday? Were they there for the fight?

 **►ThisCord** (Veteran Member) (Cape Groupie)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
So two new parahumans, both women, suddenly come onto the scene. One looks like some kind of demonic wet dream. You have to think they are living together. I can't be the only one thinking it.

New ship to add to the chart.

 **End of Page. 1,** **2** **,** **3** **...** **5** **,** **6** **,** **7**

 **(Showing page 2 of 7)**

 **►Reave** (Verified PRT Agent)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
I wish I could post the video that was making the rounds at the PRT today. Case 53 was hitting on Armsmaster for a good two minutes before her friend dragged her off. Armsmaster was having none of it but couldn't get her to back off. One of the funniest things I have ever seen.

 **►Glory Girl** (Verified Cape) (New Wave)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
What the fuck! Were you the two Amy was talking about yesterday, running out of the bank right when the Undersiders show up? What the fuck kind of heroes are you! We needed all the help we could get with that robbery! Glad to know the new capes have our backs!

 **►Physiolosophy**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Whoa, uh.

So if that's true...

That's kinda fucked up.

I hope there's something we don't know.

 **►SupremeGrr**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Damn GG, you alright? Saw on the paper they took Panacea hostage. Hope everything is ok.

Edit: just saw the pictures. So, is Koakuma single?

 **►TheSaxDemon** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Glory Girl  
Miss Patchy and I had a lot to do that day. We decided helping with the robbery would be a waste of time.

SupremeGrr  
At the moment I only have Miss Patchy, but I would not be opposed to someone else warming my bed from time to time.

 **►ThisCord** (Veteran Member) (Cape Groupie)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
I KNEW IT! SOMEONE MARK THIS DOWN!

 **►KnowledgeAndPower** (Unverified Cape)  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Koa...how are you using the internet? Also I will make this abundantly clear, I am not dating Koa. We are friends and coworkers. That is all.

Glory Girl  
I am sorry but we were unable to help with the bank. We were not aware until it was too late what was going on. Our apologies and we hope to assist in future endeavors.

Also, could you talk to your sister for me? I am supposed to be getting healing from her soon. Maybe a date sometime this weekend if that works for her.

 **►FoundPlayer2**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
heroes couldn't help cause they were "busy"

Jesus...

Well glad to know not to get my hopes up for the new kids on the block.

 **►NightWolf**  
Replied On Apr 14th 2011:  
Lol why am I not surprised. New heroes show up to Brockton and they're in the running with Uber and Leet as most embarrassing capes.

Also does anyone else find it weird her case 53 "friend" has to call her miss. Might be something shady going on there.

Edit: she isn't supposed to use the internet? Yea, I think I'm on to something...

 **End of Page.** **1** **, 2,** **3** **,** **4** **,** **5** **,** **6** **,** **7**

-  
 **Private Messages from Tin-Mother:**

 **Tin-Mother:** Hello, for account verification purposes could you send a picture of you in costume?  
 **KnowledgeAndPower:** Is this fine [link]  
 **Tin-Mother:** Yes, that's perfect.  
 **Tin-Mother:** There is also something else.  
 **KnowledgeAndPower:** ?  
 **Tin-Mother:** When your friend was talking to Armsmaster, was she being serious?  
 **KnowledgeAndPower:** Uhm, no? Well, sort of. Koa does that to everyone.  
 **KnowledgeAndPower:** Why are you asking?  
 **Tin-Mother:** This is also needed for account verification.  
 **KnowledgeAndPower:** ...

"Banishing and summoning, huh?"

"Yes, though not in the same function that I believe you base your skills." The hooded parahuman let his gaze linger on Koa as he said this. I was starting to get the impression that Myrddin was not comfortable with Koa being around.

Well wasn't that just too bad.

Koa and I were currently at the local branch of the Protectorate in Chicago. I had been expecting a tedious bureaucratic process to get in and start talking with the leader, but he had ended up messaging me on PHO and setting the meeting up in three minutes. Apparently Alexandria had informed him about our true origins and capabilities and he had cleared his schedule and attempted to get us over as soon as we could make the trip. It worked for me, I wasn't going to complain that all the paperwork and background checks were pushed aside for my sake. We had opened a portal to his lab within the hour, snacks and tea waiting for us. It was nice to be able to get right down to business.

It also dumbfounded me to find out that I wasn't the sole magic user on this twisted version of my reality.

Apparently Scion's appearance wasn't the true point where our world's had begun to branch out. Far before the naked golden man had begun saving cats from trees, this world's magic had died a quick and painful death. Not to say our world was perfect, the slowly deteriorating belief in the supernatural played havoc for the stronger magical beings out there. But for human's and other creatures that straddled both sides, we would be fine using more esoteric arts, such as magic, with very little difficulty or danger of losing it (assuming you _could_ use magic). As well, those beings who _were_ supernaturally powerful and unable to adapt to the dissipating spiritual belief in them found niches and alternate planes to live on, and ensure their continued existence.

Here, the situation was much more dire. Nearly all supernatural power had died out long before Scion's arrival. The age of enlightenment had played havoc on the magical community, far worse than back home, and the industrial revolution had been all but the death knells. What few remnants of spiritual power remained were held onto tightly by those that could grasp them, and magic users were all but extinct.

Aside from one.

Myrddin (I swear, I recognized him from somewhere) was a parahuman. But also a wizard. How that had worked out, I wasn't quite sure. Perhaps his power had managed to bridge the gap into the magical side of things where others were unable to. Perhaps he was just a magically powerful human who had been lucky enough to trigger with a power that had synergism with his abilities. At the moment he was not entirely forthcoming with the answer and probably wouldn't be fine with me performing tests on him to find out which it was. Whatever the reason, despite the less than enthusiastic belief others had in where his powers came from, they _did_ believe in his powers. His prominent status in the local superhero scene firmly cemented him in people's minds. Myrddin and the others like him (there _had_ to be others out there) were the only ones keeping magic from all but disappearing on this world.

Sure, they couldn't come close to the capabilities of the more magically affiliated creatures I had come to know in my short purview into the supernatural world, but they were still magicians. The belief that others had in them, or to be more precise in their abilities, was something that helped keep what little remained of this world's magic functioning. To what extent others were helping with this, it has hard to say; from what I gathered, quite a few parahumans claimed their powers to be magical despite all evidence to the contrary. Still, he and others like him were doing a great service to this world. They were doing their best to fight off the inevitable, keeping icons of the esoteric to ensure magic existed to some degree. Even if all that remained were the embers of a fire that had long ago died off, still barely able to shine a light on the huddled masses around it.

It was also a good reason to spend a few more nights with dad at home. I didn't want my own powers to begin getting weaker because I was spending too much time on Earth bet until I became more well known.

"If I could get a look at how your abilities operate then?"

"Of course, just give me a moment."

Myrddin went over to grab his staff and Koa began looking incredibly uncertain of the way events were unfolding. I gave her the side eye and she bolted over, whispering into my ear a little too loudly to remain unnoticed. "Please don't have him test it out on me."

That was unnerving. I don't think I had ever seen Koa legitimately nervous before. "Why, it isn't painful or anything, is it? Won't do any permanent damage to your real self?"

"No, but it's humiliating! People start giving you looks when you get banished back to hell. They start whispering behind your back like, oh she couldn't even manage to hold onto that reality for a few weeks. What, did she walk into a church, or trip into a vat of holy water. It's a big hit to your respect. You don't want others thinking of you poorly for stuff like that."

Huh, the more I learned about demons the more I became convinced it was more like dealing with a group of teenagers than the legions of hell. To be fair, that was due likely to Koa's view on things marring all the really grotesque stuff, but still. I was really beginning to lose faith in the forces of the damned.

Myrddin interrupted our little secret sharing session. "I wouldn't worry. It is not the usual means of banishment, or whatever you would be more accustomed to. I am forcing you into a dimension of my own creation, not sending you back to where you originally resided."

"Well that sounds fine then," I butted in before Koa could attempt to talk her way out of it, "why don't you go ahead and try it?"

Koa let out a whine but Myrddin was already in motion. A wave of his staff and a muttered word and Koa was gone. Our connection hadn't been severed though; I could feel the irritation coming through as clear as ever. In fact it felt a little bit clearer than normal, I had a feeling she was doing that part on purpose. 'Koa, what's your diagnosis?'

'It isn't what I would expect. It's more like stasis than a pocket dimension. Obviously created by him, but not through natural or magical means. This must have something to do with his parahuman power and whatever force is behind it. I couldn't begin to figure out how someone could create something like this without it being an aspect of their nature, such as the gap youkai, or at least have a great deal of raw power to force it into existence. Neither of which this reality has any capacity to support.'

'Thank you, you can return now.'

Koa was back with us after a burst of flame, annoyance clear on her face and her appearance slightly amiss. She just had to keep up an image after all.

"You managed to break free of my dimension?" Myrddin asked, far more interested in Koa than he had been before. Studying her, as if he could divine the secrets of her powers by staring her down.

"Well, yes. It wasn't too difficult. While your protections against escape were not insubstantial, I am well trained in breaking out of areas which attempt to contain me. Its protections were meant for tangible beings, not for something like me. I believe you will find very few methods which could contain myself." She gave a very arrogant look after that. I couldn't help but knock her down a peg.

"Except for summoning circles."

Koa frowned, not happy I had pointed out one of her weaknesses. Or maybe it was that I had pointed it out to Myrddin. "That is a very specific type of barrier, meant specifically to hold demons. I wouldn't be foolish enough to end up in one when I wasn't interested in doing so. Though if Miss Patchy would like to keep me tied up and powerless..."

Oh she wasn't gonna distract me with that. I think I hit a bit of a nerve back there. There was something going on here that I was interested at digging into later.

Myrddin interrupted us, attempting to get us back on track. "So then Koa, if you-"

"Koakuma."

He stopped. "What?"

"You will refer to me as Koakuma. Only Miss Patchy is allowed to call me Koa."

He shook his head. "Right, Koakuma. Then, you have the ability to pass through barriers and walls? Even ones created through powers?"

She shook her head. "I am allowed this physical form through Miss Patchy's summoning. I am blocked by walls as any other tangible being would be. I have not attempted to pass through barriers created by parahuman powers, but it would likely be the same. This principle doesn't apply with inter-dimensional travel. My teleportation isn't an ability, it is me moving my created body from one set of coordinates to another."

"Then why the fire?"

Koa gave a wink. "Well it wouldn't be as showy without it."

"So my abilities only work in respect to things that have a nature identical to myself, a similar concept to the Manton effect..." Myrddin started mumbling to himself and then went off to write something down in a notebook. I had a feeling we had just helped him figure out something important, but to be honest I wasn't sure what. I decided to let him get his work out of the way, only interfering when I grew bored.

It didn't take long.

I could understand falling into a moment of intense realization and wanting to get all your ideas down before the insight left you, but you should at least note the important bits and wait till your guests have left before getting into the meat of it. I cleared my throat several times, none of which helped to get his attention back. I said "Myrddin" several times to similar effect. I didn't really know what to do; I wasn't good with people, and didn't want to do something considered uncouth. I gestured at Koa, a sign of distress. It would be fine if she bothered him, people expected it of her.

Koa decided the sanest course of action was to throw a chair at him.

Now in her defense, the chair wasn't thrown at anywhere close to the top speed she could manage, and to Myrddin's defense he managed to catch the thing in one of his pocket dimensions before it could hit him. It seemed you didn't get to be the leader of the Chicago Protectorate by collecting bottle caps.

"What in the hell!" It took him a moment to register that the two guests he had before were still here. "Stars and Stones." He said rubbing his face.

I decided to let his faux pas slide this time. "So how much did Alexandria tell you about my reason for being here?"

Myrddin laughed and scratched the back of his head. "To be perfectly honest, I did not pay particular attention to the note she sent me. I was a little eager at the opportunity to meet another person whose powers were magical in nature."

"That's...that's fair." I was starting to get the sense people didn't take Myrddin too seriously, no matter how powerful he may be. I guess if I ran around my world claiming I was a superhero, even if it happened to be true, people would start looking at me funny. "Well, I wasn't really brought here just to talk shop with you. Alexandria hopes with my help, we may be able to kill an Endbringer."

Myrddin went still at this and raised his eyebrows. At least I assumed he did. His body language seemed to indicate such. Ugh, this stupid world where everyone was wearing masks. "Well..." He trailed off, looking for the right thing to say, "now if that isn't a tall order."

"I don't expect it to be easy, but everything has a weakness. Every monster has a way to be defeated. No one has managed to find a way to do it yet, but they are working through very limited means. I believe with a bit of research and testing, we could manage to find what created these things and how they operate. Strike at their core essence, their weak point, and drive them off."

"I wish I could say I have your optimism about it, but you've never been to an Endbringer battle. Plenty of people before you have thought about doing something similar. Endbringers are..." again he attempted to find the appropriate word, "unstoppable, inhuman. Like nothing you have ever met or could imagine. They are not an enemy to be bested, they are a force of nature to be survived."

"I don't expect it to be simple, but nothing is impossible to beat."

He leaned against his bench and sighed. "I believe your inexperience is showing here. Perhaps after you have been in a battle you will understand what I mean. Or maybe you're right, who knows. I'll help as much as I can, but don't expect any miracles."

"That's all I could ask. Now since your magic appears to be intertwined with your parahuman power, maybe that is where we can begin studying. Try and parse out what differences there are and how they can be accounted for. I had some questions about your abilities anyway. We could work backwards through it and compare our similar specialties. Koa, could you go grab the book on demonic summoning and banishing I have?" I gave her a look. "I hope that you have gotten around to forming a sorting system for the books."

Koa didn't respond in any noticeable way, either calling my bluff or actually having gotten around to organizing everything while I was asleep last night. She gave a nod and disappeared in a burst of flames. I turned back to Myrddin but his gaze lingered on the spot that Koa had occupied moments ago.

"Are you fine being around something like that?"

"Of course, she's a good friend of mine. I trust her to act appropriately."

Well as appropriately as you could expect Koa to act.

As if to punctuate that statement, Myrddin let the chair fall from his pocket dimension and clatter to the floor.

"...I trust her to act appropriately to me. I have to hold her in check with others, but she'll generally act as she should."

Koa entered the room in another flash display, which shut both of us up quick. The first thing I noticed was the awkward look on her face, and the way she held herself. It was the stance of every guilty child, afraid to tell their mother they had broken a vase. The second thing I noticed was that she had returned empty handed.

"Koa? Where's the book?"

"Uhm, Miss Patchy? We might have a problem."

I sighed. "What is it now?"

"It appears someone bombed the library."

"WHAT?"


	14. Chapter 13

Sorry for the time away. My new job has kept me occupied and I have been busy as hell. At least I have a computer now so I can write this without much of a problem. Chartic Enterprises™ will be back to our regular posting speed shortly. Also I say this every update but I am actually working on Doll this time. Shout out to Sahara for being my beta for this chapter.

-

They had done it. They had actually fucking done it. I had my sanctuary for two goddamn days and someone had just come along and blown it up.

Why? Just why? I stared at the crumbling western walls, the beams barely keeping the place standing through some combination of luck and sheer force of will. It could have been worse. Oh, it could have been much worse. The building was still standing, my books were warded against these sorts of things; I could rebuild, I could repair.

Those thoughts didn't abate my anger in the slightest.

From the moment we had teleported back (Myrddin had been very understanding about the whole situation), I had stood in one spot ramrod straight as my eyes traveled the room, making a slow, thorough inspection of the damage done to the library. My library. There was an extensive amount to catalog and it was becoming difficult to continue with all the distractions. My teeth were bothering me as they ground together and my eye wouldn't stop violently twitching, making it difficult to see. I might have been shaking, and wasn't quite able to keep my hands from clenching together, looking for something to grab, to throttle.

But this was fine. I was fine.

I was calm.

Perfectly calm.

A brick came tumbling down from one of the more damaged areas. I shot it out of the air with a primal scream. I was taking some deep breaths, hyperventilating really, but fuck it. This was my library, my domain. I hadn't even gotten to properly break it in, enjoy it. And someone had come along and fucking ruined it.

"Koa, we are going to find who did this! And we, are going, to destroy them. I'll tear them into little bits and _feed them_ to you. I'll-"

The calming hand on my shoulder cut my tirade. "Miss Taylor…maybe you should calm down."

I swung myself around to face her. Koa had wisely chosen to keep out of my line of sight for the past few minutes, as I wanted to rip someone apart both metaphorically and literally. It didn't matter who, any target was suitable at this point. My dad was known for his horrible temper, something he had inherited from his father before him. Danny the demon they called him down at the docks. I never thought I had inherited the Hebert temper. If I had managed to put up with the trio for a year and a half without blowing up, what could possibly manage to test my patience more than that?

Well, I had found it.

"And why the hell would I do that? Do you see what they did? Do you see what happened to my library?" I wasn't shouting, which was surprising, but the frigid way I spoke was a lot more threatening than any hysterical screams. Koa kept her cool surprisingly well despite that. I guess she was used to seeing people at their most emotional.

"Yes I do Miss Taylor, but you don't have a good track record of reacting to attacks on yourself. The last time you went after someone for revenge, you wound up regretting it."

My retort died on my lips. The cult. That little incident I had been dancing around for the last couple of days. I'd been throwing myself into things to avoid thinking about it. It hadn't been hard to keep that up. Alexandria's offer and our interdimensional trip had created a whole lot of things that I needed to get done. Plenty of events to add to my schedule, plenty of areas to study and test, plenty of excuses why I couldn't talk to Koa about my feelings on the matter. I could always force her to drop the subject; she had to follow my orders after all. But…that just didn't seem right. She was trying to help, I couldn't begrudge her that. And I needed to work through these feelings at some point.

Just not now. I would talk with her about it when I was ready. I was fine for now.

Perfectly fine.

If that guilt trip had been intended to calm me down, it worked. The rage that had made everything else seem irrelevant faded away, replaced by guilt and shame. I took a few calming breaths and focused my attention back on Koa.

"Thank you, you're right. We can fix all of this. But I'm not going to just let this go."

"Well of course not, but we should make sure the punishment is appropriate for the crime. This time, we need to make sure it's drawn out, something more public. Set an example for everyone to see. Make a name for yourself."

I nodded along with her absently, hearing her words but not registering them. It was pretty simple to guess Koa's attitude towards things like this after all. I had more important things to think about. With my reason regained I was focusing on the damage to the library, analyzing how horrifically it had been hurt. Or to put it better, how well it had survived the attack. It was bad but all the damage was mostly superficial. All the support structures had managed to stay safe. In fact, I could probably repair most of this myself, assuming I was sufficiently healthy when the day of wood came around again. All the crucial parts of the library were intact and all of my books were safe. Whoever had planted these bombs hadn't intended for them to bring the place down. And from the looks of things, it was up in the air whether they had intended for them to kill me either. Obviously, I would be in the center, the one place best protected from the blasts. This entire thing was horribly amateurish. Nothing was taken, no sign of entry.

Why _had_ someone decided to blow my library up like this?

"I'll have you leave a message with Alexandria," Koa perked up at that which immediately had me worrying, " _by phone_ , and hopefully she can send some people here to refurbish the place. We'll just…put up some tarps or something till then. The only question is why would someone attack us? As far as they know, we're just a neutral party that showed up a few days ago."

And that was true, no matter what PHO's opinion of us was. Geeze, didn't they know what the term rogue meant? Glory Girl had left dozens of angry posts after I responded to her, and hadn't even set up a date for Panacea and me. I shook my head at the stupidity of forum users, which drew my gaze to something that had somehow escape my earlier scrutiny.

"And what the hell is this!" I yelled, pointing towards a section of my library that was encompassed in a grey bubble. It was currently occupying around a dozen feet in a relatively unused section. It was a half sphere, or at least I extrapolated as much. I could tell that the majority of where its area laid was outside my walls.

Koa walked around the thing several times, poking here and prodding there, some attempts forceful, others not. She sent a small burst of power that impacted harmlessly against the bubble then turned back to me and shrugged. "No idea."

I rubbed my hands across my face, feeling like I wanted to just rip it off. What the hell was this? I stepped up and began to form my own diagnosis. It didn't appear to be anything malevolent in nature, in fact this bubble seemed far too inert to be a trap.

A few attempts on my part to spring said trap helped determine such.

Judging by our failed attempts to pierce it, someone had set up a powerful bubble shield around a portion of my library. Or at least the parahuman equivalent of such. For what purpose, again, I had absolutely no idea. Were these two events even connected? Did I just have really shitty luck?

Well, they had managed to trap a few books in there and I really didn't want to wait for however long it would take to get rid of this thing. The day of water only came once a week, and it would be the best time to work out spells to cleanse the area. Ugh, this was looking to be a huge time sink.

"Koa, teleport inside and grab everything. I am going to need a full inventory to make sure nothing was damaged or taken. I don't want to lose a thing and we need to figure out who did this and why. The faster we ensure everything is still here, the quicker we can get to that."

Koa teleported into the bubble and…nothing. She was frozen mid pose, the fire that accompanied her teleports was motionless around her. I stared at her, waiting for her to move. For the fire to dissipate. For anything to happen.

'Koa, what's going on? Are you alright?'

No response back. I stared at my familiar, stuck in the same pose she had made as she teleported into the bubble. I didn't want to rise to one of her pranks but time dragged on. I couldn't sense any emotions from her. I wasn't getting a response back. Nothing.

Surprisingly, this might not be a joke.

"Koa?"

I stood in the silence of my library, as a realization came that the bubble may have been a little bit more than a defensive measure to irk me.

"Shit."

-

I decided to head back home to do the summoning. I wasn't sure whether there was enough ambient magic to facilitate the initial transfer of consciousness and, more importantly, didn't want to bother with moving all my summoning supplies to the library. Not without someone else to do the physical labor.

The lines were drawn but an offering was needed. It was incredibly difficult to get pig's blood and Dad had placed a hard veto on bringing it into the house so that was out, and I didn't have anything or anyone to sacrifice. Koa was a succubus so other, less than savory items could make due till then. However, I wasn't going to buy any pornography just to bring Koa back. I would never hear the end of that teasing. There was even less of a chance of something more provocative being acquired. In the end, a Victoria's Secret catalog made due. I began chanting and in a flash, my demon was back.

A sour look crossed her face as she studied her offering. "Really Miss Taylor? I should deny the summoning just for this. I expect a certain level of respect you know."

"Look, it's short notice. Just…can we not do this now. I'll get you a proper offering within the week. Something more to your liking."

That was an offer that may come back to bite me later but I didn't want her to try and weasel a loophole out of this mess. Besides, we needed to shake down some people and figure out who blew up my library. Koa could have her fun then.

"As mentioned in section twelve of our contact, a repeat summoning will be dictated by the same rules and regulations afforded and expected of you under our initial contract. This statement is in accordance with a relative perspective, in relation to this plane's sense of entropy. Are these terms acceptable for you?"

"You got it Miss Taylor." She said with a crisp salute.

"So, what happened there?"

Koa put on a thoughtful look as she stepped out of the summoning circle. "Well, according to you, I teleported myself into a bubble of frozen time. As soon as I ported in I wasn't able to talk, or move, or think. Just frozen. But, because I'm not really all here," she gave a wave at the general area, "I was kind of aware that time was passing around me, that things were happening in the background. Just not able to do anything about it."

I grimaced at that. "Wow, that sounds…awful."

"Don't worry, I had something to focus on to keep myself entertained. Besides, it's not like I could go crazy waiting. It was just so boring~." She drew out the word. Good, an advanced warning that she was going to find new ways to "entertain herself" to blow off steam. Most likely to my annoyance.

Perhaps I should just let her loose on Brockton Bay for a little bit. How much damage could she possibly cause?

Suddenly something that Koa had just said caught up to me. "Wait, according to _me_?"

Koa nodded. "Yep, I couldn't get myself out of the bubble so I waited until a few weeks later when you figured out a way to dissipate it. Then you unsummoned me and then you called me back and here I am."

Ugh, I was hoping that a summoning would just pull her out of the bubble. That meant that there was a version of Koa still frozen inside of there. Every time someone entered my library I was going to have to explain what the hell was going on in that bubble. Great.

"Well did you at least manage to get anything useful from future-me?"

Koa looked thoughtful for a second. "Well, I got the books. And…nope, nothing other than that."

I gave her a blank look. "I really didn't tell you anything? Not any future events, not any important secrets or discoveries I made? Not even who bombed the library?"

"Well I thought it was gonna go that way, but for some reason you sent me off pretty quickly after I started talking to myself."

Oh. Dealing with two Koas. No, that made sense then. I couldn't fault future-me for making that call. I would have done the same thing in my shoes. I guess I will in a few weeks time.

"Fine, you know what. It doesn't matter. We have something more important to focus on. It's going to be a busy week Koa. Especially for you."

We used the portal back to Earth Bet and a surge of heat flowed through my veins at the reminder of what had happened but I pushed it down as best I could. I was calm, I was fine. I needed to remained focused. Yep there was Koa. Frozen in time, same as before. God this was going to look ridiculous for anyone who comes to visit. My library wasn't big enough where something like this could go unnoticed. Maybe I could throw a sheet over it…

I was getting off track. I needed to focus.

"Koa, I'm going to let you off your leash a little bit."

I winced at my wording. There was a zero percent chance I wouldn't be hearing something about that later.

"I need you to get your ear to the street, see if you can figure out who would be stupid enough to do this. Where I can find them. If there is anyone else affected, and if they would like a team up to take out this problem. I expect a certain level of decorum, but as long as souls remain unmolested and people are left...mostly intact. I will leave your better judgement to decide on your course of action. Don't dissapoint me."

I adjusted my glasses to have them gleam in the low light of my library. The effect was somewhat lost without someone here to intimidate but it put me in the right mood for what I was about to say.

"Koa. We are going to find who did this, and we are going to make them _rue the day_ they decided to touch a single one of my books."

-

For some reason Koa decided that I needed to get out of the library. Get some fresh air to help clear my head. Probably a good idea, every time I saw that annoying little blob of greyed out air, the destruction wrought upon my home, I felt this horrible fury rise up in me and I got the urge to set things on fire. If I wanted to avoid any difficult questions from the fire department, I needed to get out and get my mind off of things.

So we had decided to go shopping.

I wasn't sure why, I had other things to think about, and gotten dragged off without any real dissention. I mean, Earth Bet was just the same as my world just with a few more destructive monsters and some flashier powered people running around. There wasn't any special reason to go out shopping. We had already gone on a trip once this month and I wasn't excited at the prospect of repeating that experience. Koa may not have been very touchy during the whole thing, but damn if she couldn't drag it out and give plenty of comments that were both horribly inappropriate and completely innocent.

At least leaving my library gave me a clue why someone had decided to bomb the place. It appears that I had not been the sole victim of an attack. Possibly not even a target and just caught in the crossfire, which pissed me off to no end. A gang called the Asian Bad Boyz were attempting a jailbreak and had gone all out, bombing a wide series of targets to distract the law enforcement enough to brave an escape for their leader. Ballsy move, both earning the wrath of an entire city, performing a terrorist attack that will surely get the federal government and possibly military involved, and worst of all, letting me know whose face I needed to kick in.

Bakuda, your time would come.

Also, for a city in the middle of a terrorist attack, people were taking everything surprisingly well. I would expect more running around and screaming, but everyone were just walking around as if this were a typical day, aside from a couple more emergency vehicles on the road. Hell, the boardwalk was absolutely packed with shoppers. Well, I guess this was the boardwalk. The majority of the explosions had ended a while ago. It was distanced from the more important areas. This area was pretty well protected, and seemed to be safe from even the super villain gangs from messing around in the city. This might just be the safest place to be considering recent events..

"Oh Taylor, you wouldn't believe how happy I am to see you."

No. No way. My luck cannot be this bad. No way I managed to swap universes and I still am being harassed by those bitches. I turn around and, yep there is Emma, Sophia backing her up. Wow if this scene wasn't familiar. What were they even doing out here? Hadn't someone just tried to blow up the city? Why would Emma and Sophia be going shopping right after a bombing run?

Some deity had to be lining this up. No way was anyone's luck this bad.

"And who is this?" Emma said turning to Koa. "A friend? Who would want to be friends with you?"

Even I could tell that those sentences were layered with meaning; someone with better social perception than I could probably have pierced it together right there. Maybe when I was in a better state of mind I could analyze it. Or just get Koa to tell me what she meant.

No, the current situation left me too focused on my once tormentors. Unfortunately for the two of them, I was not in any mood to put up with their shit. I was _not_ calm and the way Bakuda had fucked me over left me feeling particularly vindictive. Normally I would have just walked away, been the voice of reason in our duo. Instead I turned to look at Koa. She was already looking at me. Her eyes darted over to Sophia and then turned back to me. Waiting.

I was usually better than this. The last time Koa had attacked someone I had not been in a spot where I could tell her to act otherwise. Normally I would put a stop to this nonsense right away. Thus arose a problem; I wasn't feeling particularly inclined towards restraint.

I nodded.

Koa smiled and sauntered up to the two of them. Sophia was grabbed by her collar and let out a curse of acknowledgment of Koa manhandling her. At least I assumed it was a curse; Koa worked too fast for her to get the full word out. Their foreheads got to enjoy a beautiful reunion and Sophia was on the ground. Apparently this version of the bitch was tougher than mine because she was still alert enough to roll around and curse. Koa tilted her head, confused that it took more than just that to deal with her. Then she turned her eyes on Emma and then looked back at me.

I smiled and _nodded_.

Koa gave a long and thoughtful look over to the ocean. It took a second but I got her meaning. I **_nodded_**.

Emma's lack of a survival instinct seemed to be consistent between dimensions; as Koa advanced on her she did her best impression of a fish at Sophia's takedown. Halfway there Koa reared back a foot and didn't even pause mid-walk to have it collide Sophia's head. The bitch was out cold after that. Emma did finally get her bearings straight, and let out a squawk as she was picked up the by the back of her shirt and thrown over Koa's shoulder. Then she _really_ started putting up a fight. Yelling and thrashing and a lot of scratching at whatever she could grab. Good attempt Emma, but you aren't getting out of those arms.

Also I wasn't aware she knew quite so many curse words. I guess her time around Sophia had really taught her a thing or two. I wonder what Alan would think about all this.

The anticipation only built the closer and closer Koa got to the railing. Emma seemed to realize what was going on when they were ten feet away, and boy I thought she had been fighting before. I followed behind at a short distance watching the whole thing, looking around to see if any of the enforcers or tourists were paying attention to this apparent kidnapping.

Nope, we were all good. Disguise field was up and running.

"Do you think she'll die if I drop her from this height?"

Emma froze up at that thought. I took a look down. Well, the Boardwalk wasn't _that_ high up. I mean, sure she might get a little bruised, and a belly flop might leave her a bit sore after she hit the water. But Emma was tough, she was strong. She kept telling me so. I'm sure she would be _just_ fine.

"Just throw her a good distance away. We don't want her hitting any of the wood holding this place up."

How considerate of me, thinking of her well being. It's the least I could do. For a friend.

Koa nodded, reared back, and heaved. Emma gave a shriek that was music to my ears, and I felt as the barrier shattered and suddenly everyone started to pay attention to the redheads flight off into the distance. At least until gravity took hold.

We stayed around just long enough to see her cannonball into the frigid ocean waters before walking away, inconspicuous in the crowd that had formed on the railing.

I felt a lot better, and stepped on Sophia's face as one final fuck you, while she was down. Watching Emma take a bath was exactly what I needed to improve my mood after how shitty this day had been. Dealing with her bullshit was more than I was willing to put up with.

And best of all, I was in another dimension. No repercussions for doing something like this.

When we were far enough away where I could do absolutely nothing to try and resolve the situation, Koa turned to me and asked, "Miss Taylor, if we are in a different dimension, how did those two recognize you?"

It took a moment for my brain to process that.

Fuck.


	15. Chapter 14

Things were tense at the PRT. This was no different than normal, it was the nature of the job, especially in a city like Brockton Bay. Things had been difficult for the past year, only getting worse as time progressed. The last few days had been one of the lowest points in recent memory, after Bakuda's bombing and Lung's escape. They had managed to keep the entirety of the Protectorate tied up yesterday dealing with that crisis.

Today things were tense for a different reason, far more personal. It wasn't every day that a Ward was hurt in the line of duty, and even less so was that injury gained in their civilian guise. It had managed to get everyone jumpy, and the higher ups in both organizations were none too pleased. It would make sense then that the full force of the Brockton Bay Protectorate was preparing to lay hell down on someone foolish enough to go after a hero out of costume.

The trouble was finding out exactly who had done it.

That was why as many members of the Protectorate as they could afford to use had gathered today in a meeting at the PRT. Director Piggot and Deputy-Director Renick, as well as a few other key members of the PRT, had shown up as part of a joint effort to assist with this investigation. The only ones absent were Miss Militia and Dauntless, out on patrol even in a time like this.

The Protectorate couldn't afford to let the gangs think they were slacking off, especially after yesterday.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Armsmaster began. "Shadow Stalker was attacked, while at the boardwalk with her friend Emma Barnes. Per testimony from the two, they came upon a classmate and an unknown woman. This woman then proceeded to assault Shadow Stalker, leaving her with a slight concussion, as well as some bruising, and then tossed Miss Barnes into the ocean, leaving her with a near case of hypothermia and almost drowning her."

He got nods from around the table. Most were aware of this, though maybe not the extent of the injuries to the two girls. Still, a good place to start to get everyone appropriately invested. This wasn't something that could just be ignored. Especially after what they had gathered from witnesses.

"We only have testimony from those two, as they were the only ones to witness this event and remember it as it happened."

The screen behind him switched to a video, slightly grainy but not too bad. It was showing the scene from the boardwalk. Nothing out of the ordinary, until something caught everyone's attention and they all ran towards one side of the pier. It paused shortly after that.

"We believe this new parahuman to be a powerful stranger. Not only were all witnesses unable to recall the attack, all footage taken before Miss Barnes was thrown off the pier showed no signs of the altercation happening. This naturally made determining the Parahuman behind this incident difficult. Luckily, PRT officials tasked with analyzing the tapes noticed an oddity among the group: two women in the crowd simply appear and then walk away as if nothing is out of the ordinary."

The camera zoomed in a bit, something which only worsened the image quality, on the two women he had been referring to. As the video played, you could see them suddenly appear among the crowd of people, something no one around them seemed to notice. They already had their backs turned from the scene that everyone else was entranced by and were slowly making their way away. Both were directly facing the camera.

"Miss Hess and Miss Barnes were both adamant that their classmate, Taylor Hebert, was involved in the events that occurred but were similarly adamant she was not a parahuman. They are still under Master/Stranger Protocols to determine if there are any signs that this is a master effect from Miss Hebert. For now, we will see if we can identify the other woman, to put them both under surveillance as we continue our investigation."

The video stopped again and returned to the original scene when the two first appeared. Armsmaster moved a little way over to another screen, where Dragon's avatar had been waiting patiently through the course of the meeting.

"Fortunately for us, they did this attack unmasked. I am preparing to work in conjunction with Dragon to create a facial recognition program, which will help us identify them. For these purposes, I've invited her to come and sit in on this meeting."

"Happy to help," Dragon greeted.

"This software will be looking through government cameras and all those available without a warrant to narrow down their location and alert us to their movement patterns. It will also be searching through social media and criminal record databases to identify them. We will begin as soon as possible and hope to have a match within the next two days."

The video began to replay again, only the motion was halved. This time several different brightly colored boxes appeared on the faces of the two women as they began walking towards the camera, turning this way and that. Both their faces still easily recognizable even with the poor quality.

"As you can see-"

"Wait, could you please replay the video from when they appear?"

The interruption drew the rooms attention.

"Sorry, it just came to me. I think that I recognize her. If you could just play it again. I think that I might be able to tell who she is."

Everyone's gaze focused just a little harder on Dragon as Armsmaster complied. The video began to play again and Dragon evaluated it with a careful eye before calling out, "Pause."

The video paused, in one good shot showcasing visage of the redhead turned, smiling heartily, at the camera. "Now please, I can't be the only one who recognizes her?"

After a bout of silence, Dragon continued, in a much more playful tone "Armsmaster, do _you_ recognize her?"

Yes, now that she brought it up, he did seem to recollect her from somewhere. There was something about her, some piece of information that was tickling the back of his brain. The face, there was something about the face that was...irritating him. If only he could remember why.

Unfortunately, Assault figured it out before he did.

"C'mon Armsy, you offer to shove your halberd," he made the appropriate finger quotes here, "in someone and don't even bother to remember what she looks like?"

It clicked. He frowned. Amidst a series of barely concealed chuckles, Armsmaster commented.

"Oh. Her."

-

Of all the things Danny Hebert expected to see when he answered the door, the leader of the local Protectorate was not at the top of the list. In fact, a thought like that would have never even crossed his mind. Yet there he was, standing in blue power armor on the front stoop. The entire situation was just so absurd to the man that he wasn't sure what to do.

Thankfully, in the face of such a scene, politeness took over while rationality absconded.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here investigating a parahuman incident involving your daughter. May I come in ask you some questions?"

Oh. Parahuman incident involving his daughter. Well, there was only one thing that came to his mind when you mentioned that. Funny word to use, "incident", he would have called it a disaster. One that she still hadn't woken up from.

"Sure thing, would you like to see her as well?"

"That would be for the best, yes."

Danny Hebert beckoned and the hero walked into the room, giving a quick look around at the place. Taylor's two friends were still on the sofa and locked up at the sight of him. He smiled at that. Even if they were a bit mature for their age, they were still kids; of course, they would freeze up at the sight of a famous hero.

Armsmaster only paid them the briefest glance before walking into the room, surveying almost everything in quick succession before he focused in on Taylor. He took a long look at his daughter unconscious on the mattress they had brought downstairs for her. He was a hero and all, but the cold way he seemed to do it put Danny on edge. Sure, he must have been used to seeing people laid out like this, especially after the week they just had, but Taylor was his daughter. It irked him to see someone look at her injured so casually.

"How long has she been like this?"

"Since yesterday. Her friends brought her back and…she was with them when the bombs started going off. Her friend's father is a doctor and he took care of her but she's concussed and…"

Danny trailed off awkwardly here, not sure how to continue the conversation.

Lisa and Brian, unfortunately for his sake, seemed unconcerned with taking any of the awkwardness off him and onto themselves. Armsmaster, on the other hand, didn't seem particularly bothered by his response.

The man didn't seem to get bothered by much. He just stood there stoically, looking down at Taylor, before speaking again.

"She has been unconscious then? For how long and during what hours?"

Danny stumbled over his words again; Lisa took over from there. "She was with us when bombs started going off last night. We got her medical help as quick as we could after that. She's been unconscious for…a day now I think. She may have woken up once or twice but she doesn't stay awake long."

Armsmaster frowned. Danny fretted.

"Are you entirely certain of this?"

Lisa nodded. "Yep. Doctor's orders to keep her under. She took a pretty nasty hit from that bomb. It wasn't anything terribly serious, but she still needs about a week before she'll fully recover. Couldn't even walk on her own when we carried her in this morning."

She was looking a lot more relaxed. It looked like she'd gotten over her bout of hero worship quickly. Brian, on the other hand, still looked absolutely frightened. Though, Danny was sure the boy thought he was hiding it plenty well.

"This is…distressing," Armsmaster commented.

Yes, it damn well was, his daughter got hit with a bomb and one of the city's heroes was just standing in his living room!

"Though, things are looking much better for Miss Hebert than they were a minute ago."

Armsmaster turned back to Danny and stared at him for a moment. Not too long but enough to be unnerving. Especially after that last statement.

"I have some sensitive information about your daughter to inform you of. Unless you would prefer I do it somewhere more private." He finished, gesturing towards Taylor's friends.

Did Danny trust these kids? Taylor seemed to. It had been a damn long time since anyone had been over to the house. And they had been the ones to get her to safety, get her medical care when she needed it. If Taylor trusted them, he would offer that same luxury.

"It's fine. They can hear whatever you have to say."

Armsmaster nodded. "I can't be certain yet, but I believe that there is an unknown parahuman impersonating your daughter."

-

"I don't want to do it."

The pained look on her dad's face almost made her reconsider. "Taylor, please. Someone out there is pretending to be you. God knows why. Please, take their offer."

Dad wanted me to turn myself into the Protectorate.

And he didn't even know I was a super villain.

Lisa had managed to fill me in, while my dad was in the other room. Someone was walking around wearing my face. Pretending to be me. Someone had assaulted Emma and Sophia, humiliated them (the only piece of solace I could get from the whole thing). Armsmaster had come by while I was out of it and talked to my dad, told him he wanted me brought into Protectorate custody until further notice. They were going to launch an investigation, and, hopefully, find out what was going on.

Like I was really going to trust Armsmaster after our last meeting.

"I don't want to do it. I'll be fine. Really, dad, it'll be ok. We don't even know that they're coming after me."

He threw his hands in the air, a lot angrier than I expected him to be. "Taylor this is serious! Someone is pretending to be you and hurting your classmates. They hurt _Emma_ , Taylor. You two used to be thick as thieves. I don't want to see the same thing happening to you. You have to see where I'm coming from here. You can't treat your life so frivolously."

I didn't say anything in response, which was as bad as me confirming it as negative. I couldn't respond to that. Even the thought of doing something to help out Emma made my blood boil.

Dad huffed in and out a bit. His mouth set into a grim line. "Taylor you are going to turn yourself into the Protectorate. They'll take care of you. This isn't like…like the bullying. This isn't something I'm going to ignore just because you ask me to. And this isn't a request. These are _parahumans_ , these people will hurt you." The anger in his voice became more muted after this, droopier. "Please, little owl. Please. They'll be able to keep you safe, while they take care of this."

Using mom's old nickname for me hit a chord that I would have preferred remain untouched. Especially by him, right now. Trust the Protectorate to take care of things? I couldn't do that. I was better equipped than them to do something about this. If they found out who I was, they'd lock me up. And it would only take one mistake. And even if they didn't realize I was Skitter? They'd be keeping me under lock and key "for my own safety". I couldn't figure out who the Undersider's boss was if I couldn't even be on the team. Hurting all those people at the bank. Worming my way into their group. Who knows when I'd even be able to see them again? All of it would have been for nothing.

I wasn't about to let him trap me like that.

"Why do you get to decide my life now?"

"Taylor, I am your _father_."

"Why weren't you my dad before?"

Lisa and Brian sat awkwardly on the couch. Both their heads tilted to the side, staring at opposite sides of the room, anywhere but forward. Pretending they weren't noticing the family argument happening right in front of them.

He seemed honestly confused by the direction the conversation was taking.

"Taylor, what do you mean?"

"Why weren't you my dad before? When I needed you?"

"It-it's been, I've been having trouble ever since your mother passed Taylor. You know that."

No. I wasn't going to let him get away with saying that. I was working myself up. All the bugs in my range were agitated and I barely remembered to give them a command to stay where they were before they swarmed us. I couldn't tell if it was the concussion, or if everything was just letting itself out. I was shouting, yelling. The world was spinning a little bit as I sat up.

"Why do you care now?" I shrieked. "It's always been hard. Always been about mom. But you never bothered to try. I'm _glad_ Emma got hurt. She's been bullying me this whole time, and you never even asked. Not until the locker. I knew you couldn't handle this, knew you couldn't help. You'd have lost against Mr. Barnes and just given up again. Given up like when mom died. I've had to be on my own for so long without you. You don't get to just come back and pretend everything is fine. I didn't need you deciding my life for me before, I don't need you now!"

Dad just looked at me, shocked. I was tired, felt so drained. My head was starting to hurt and I felt way too dizzy to keep pressing him. I wiped the wetness out of my eyes.

"Emma's been…bullying you?"

Dad trailed off. I refused to say anything else. Not to him. In the silence that followed that statement, Lisa interjected herself.

"Danny, listen. I can tell Taylor needs time to cool her head. Maybe…maybe we should let her sit down for a bit. Maybe when she feels better, we should..."

They kept talking, but as I slumped back down onto the mattress, everything started to go all wavy. The voices coming in and out. Only catching brief glimpses into what they were talking about.

"…stay with us…keep safe…out of the way…"

"Don't want…please…trouble in school…not sure…"

"…friends…blames you…talk to her…help…"

The voices stopped for a while after that and I basked in the silence that followed. I realized after a while that someone was standing over me and looked up into dad's face. His eyes were red and puffy.

"Taylor please…please call when you feel better. We need to talk more. I want to help you, but please just let me try."

I turned away, refusing to give him a response. My head fell back onto the pillow and tried to fall back asleep. It didn't take long. Might have only been a minute. Like everything in my life, it all started fading away. Until slowly, it just disappeared. Gone. Everything fading to black.

-

The dragonfly had given up buzzing around; its container was too tight to provide suitable space for doing so. Instead, it sat and waited. Waited for some stimuli to urge it back into motion. Some movement, either from its surrounding or in its vision. Unaware of the runed circle it found itself in. Unaware of the chanting woman standing outside of it.

Until it was conscious.

Knowledge. Knowledge a creature like it was never supposed to possess flooded its mind. Purpose wafted through its being. Power as well, though limited power at best. He knew he had been limited in relation to its creator. Still a power it could use.

A command, a stimulus.

Feeling of normality, of fulfillment, territory owned without aggressors. The message understood. The dragonfly let the same feelings return, with some measure of flight, of movement, added on top.

The container was lifted off and the dragonfly took flight. It made a lazy circle of the room, its instincts new and different. It knew where its master lay and landed softly on her hair. It felt right.

Nothing more was spoken; the circle remained unbroken. A comforting flow that sparkled in its mind's eye, a diamond amidst all its other thoughts. Separate from its own but as much at home as its own way of thinking.

It flashed thoughts back to its master. Hunger? Rest? Danger? Enemy? Simple concepts, but it was still learning. Still getting a grasp on what it had been and what it now was.

Taylor didn't need to speak the idea, yet did it anyway. The gist of what she wanted would translate well enough.

"We are going to catch a little, black rat."


	16. Chapter 15

Whoops, I've been away for a little bit. Have been working on a MS Paint Adventure's style comic about Cauldron over on Sufficient Velocity and Space Battles if you're into that kinda thing.

 **-scene change-**

"Again, on behalf of the Protectorate, I would like to apologize. I hope you are able to understand why we needed to have you taken in for questioning," Armsmaster repeated for what felt like the hundredth time today.

He didn't exactly look apologetic but I wasn't going to call him on it; he didn't seem to like me for some reason. Besides, I didn't really care at this point, I just wanted this all to be over.

I let out a sigh, followed by a series of coughs. Today was not one of my good days, only worsened by being arrested the previous one. Waking up in a holding cell, no tea, and no Koa was one of the worst mornings I've ever had to experience. Nevertheless, I managed to act more charitable than I was feeling. "It's fine, it's fine. I guess I'd think the same in your place. I mean, you saw Koa, we're kind of a team, so you thought I must be involved. I can understand how you might think I was this girl, we do look alike. As long as we're all finished now, it's fine."

"Yes, I don't think we'll need anything else from you," Armsmaster replied. He made to leave before pausing and turning back to say, "and my condolences for your friend."

I gave something that nearly resembled a shrug, the beds in the Protectorate cell hadn't exactly been comfortable and I felt sore all over. "Thank you, Hopefully, with the two of us," I gestured to my "replacement assistant", "we might be able to work out a way to get Koa out of that bubble."

He gave a single nod before speaking. "Best of luck with that then.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to send a message over if we figure it out, see if we can get some other people free...though, with Koa gone, things have certainly been a lot calmer around here. Perhaps I'll wait another week or two before getting started on that."

Armsmaster nodded. His lack of response could have meant a lot of unpleasant things, but I imagined he was thinking of how Koa had ribbed him and was silently agreeing with me. He stopped mid-exit again and turned back. "Oh yes, and it was nice meeting you too," Armsmaster said, the sentence almost an afterthought.

My "replacement staff", a woman who had introduced herself as a new tinker named Dynamics, nodded at him. "Of course, it was a pleasure meeting you as well. Perhaps we can discuss, at a later date, ways in which our focuses could mesh."

"Perhaps," Armsmaster said, not giving even a moment's thought to that suggestion. From what I had been told, "Dynamics" had specifically phrased everything that she said about her powers in a way that would make her appear uninteresting and forgettable. A footnote in a report, never to be looked at again. A good way to get the two of them talking but avoid any potential hang ups later on.

Armsmaster _finally_ left, the door closed behind him with an ominous click, and I sagged with relief before turning to my "assistant". She didn't have to say a thing; her eyes bored into my soul with the same horrible glare she hit me with earlier. I was already on the defensive and she hadn't spoken a word. "Yes, yes, I'm sorry. I know. I won't do it again."

Contessa just kept staring at me in a way that I knew was specifically tailored (or should I say Taylor-ed) to make me as uncomfortable as possible. God, she had given me an earful before Armsmaster had even arrived to take me in. It was as bad as any speech from my mom. Another thing I was sure she was using her power to do.

"I hope that you won't waste my time with any more visits like this. We had to spend two assets to cover for you."

I deflated at her words. Her glare was really getting to me. Was there anyone be able to face down something so horrible? That question, combined with her tone and body language, allowed for no answer aside from a resigned and apologetic assent, followed by begging for forgiveness.

To avoid another tongue lashing, that was exactly what I gave her.

"Sorry, I just... I kind of got caught up in everything. Didn't think things through and just acted. I just can't deal with them like that, they piss me off so much. I won't be doing anything like that again though, don't worry. I'll be staying above the book from now on. I promise."

She just stared at me, cold and silent like a frigid winter. Spooky. It took a few more moments before she was finished creeping me out and relented on the glare. "Good."

I was expecting her to leave at that point, but she didn't. Just stood there and kept staring until I eventually asked her, "What is it?"

"You're wasting your time. I can find her for you with my power." She paused for a second. " I've already found her with my power. You should be focusing on your research, not this. I can get rid of her in two minutes."

I didn't need to ask who she meant. She really did know everything. I shook my head and sat down at my desk. It was too tiring to float. "It's not the same if you do it for me. I couldn't accept winning like that. I'm going to find her on my own and do what I deem appropriate for vengeance."

That sentence had sounded a lot cooler in my head. Contessa thankfully didn't say anything to that, as I'm sure she could come up with a remark to make me feel like a complete idiot. I did see her firm stance droop a bit.

"You're distracting yourself from what is important."

"I can't really do all that much until the next Endbringer attack. I need a better read on what the Endbringers are and the best way to fight against them. Right now, I'm just grabbing whatever I can think of to see if it might stick. It's all just guesses, _educated guesses_ , but still just guesses. I'll need to run a close-up analysis and test a few promising attacks to judge damage. It'll wind up taking me one, two, maybe three fights before I know for sure what I'm doing will help."

"I hope that you're right about that," Contessa said, adjusting her hat in a way that looked impossibly cool. God, what I would do with a power like that. I bet _she_ didn't have to pose in front of a mirror to get it right. "If not I'll be forced to oversee your work more personally from now on. Door."

A hole in space opened behind her, leading into an impossibly white room. I guess you couldn't be an evil government organization without a wicked base, but damn. What kind of janitor could keep a building so damn clean? Did they have super-powered janitors?

"Oh," I called after her, making sure she turned around to acknowledge me before I continued, "don't think I haven't noticed you watching me. I don't want you guys having all of my secrets. You might find it a bit more difficult to keep tabs on me from now on."

I tried to sound smug and in charge but it came out a little weak when she didn't even react to my accusation. She only gave me a nod before walking through the aperture that had opened in my lab. It closed behind her and I was alone again, Oh wait, no I wasn't. I felt the sensation of home and familiarity as my Dragonfly returned to me, landing in my hair. It began chittering feelings of accomplishment, difficult to parse the meaning from thoughts but I was getting better at understanding it.

We were close. Very close.

Now, I just needed Koa to ensure no one else got to her first.

But first, I was tired. It was time to take a nap.

 **-scene change-**

The flame from a lighter lit up the room, the only light in the darkness, illuminating both bodies laid out on the bed. They were hidden partially by the covers, not enough to be decent but maybe enough for an R-rated movie. The two sat in the silence for a while, both bathing in the afterglow. The smell of cigarette smoke filled the tiny room. He offered the pack to the woman and she took one without speaking. He lit and she inhaled. The only sound was their steady breathing.

She chose to break the silence first.

"Have you heard about that woman who bombed the city?"

Not exactly the kind of pillow-talk he had expected, but there was something off about this woman. She had a different feel about her: odd, interesting. Something that had him approach her earlier in the club. Well, what the hell? It was something to talk about. Plus, it was something he _wanted_ to talk about. A topic he'd been discussing with others for a while now. There isn't a person alive who doesn't love gossip, after all.

"Heh, yeah. Who hasn't? She fucked up most of the city. Don't worry about her; we're gonna be flushing her out soon. Kaiser's gonna be leading the charge against her personally. I wouldn't give her two weeks."

"Oh wow," the woman smiled, reaching over to rub her hand across his shaved head. "Getting top secret info about Kaiser himself? I didn't know I was letting a big shot take me back home."

He smiled at that, letting her tease him just a little. It felt so natural with her, so caring. Even if it felt a bit like an insult, he couldn't find it in himself to get angry. She stopped and he could vaguely see her rub her hand against her chin in the dim lighting of the room.

"But he'll be doing it alone? And so soon after the bombing happened? I hope none of the other gangs try to get in his way. I've been hearing about Coil taking shots at the Empire whenever he can. He sounds slimy enough to try and take advantage of this."

The man smiled, happy to show a bit more knowledge. "Nah, nah. Kaiser's grabbing all the villains up to go after them. Some kinda truce. We'll just have to put up with them until we're finished and that bitch is dead. There's gonna be a meeting at Somer's Rock next week just to discuss things and then teams will start heading out to look for her."

Koa smiled. "Hmmm, interesting. What's Somer's Rock?"

-scene change-

A portal opened and Contessa stepped through into a conference room. Doctor Mother sat at the other side of a table. Waiting for her.

"Well?" she asked, motioning for Contessa to take a seat. She was already moving for a chair before the Doctor had finished the motion.

"She has been doing her best to research what she is most likely to injure the Endbringers and Scion, though she has been purposefully avoiding certain subjects for some reason. Aside from that, I have all of her current knowledge tracked and accounted for."

There wasn't any sign of relief from the doctor but you could feel a bit of anxiety bleed off; contingency plans were always important after all. Especially with a person who would come to be as important as Patchouli at combating major threats. If something were to go awry with her, it was always best to have a way to get the ball rolling again without starting from scratch. Find a new mage and continue where she left off.

"Her precog-blocking abilities weren't the cause then?"

Contessa shook her head. "No, it will only stop someone whose agent isn't accustomed to her yet. She _will_ determine a new way to block pre-cogs once she realizes her current method isn't working. Some device that inter-lays alternate versions of herself over the real one. After that, it becomes a bit hazier but the path can calculate the most important bits. No, the real cause is the demon. Something about her is causing the path to only show fog and I'm not sure why."

 **-scene change-**

"That's settled then. Anything else? Issues, negotiations, requests?"

No one else from the major groups was going to bring anything up, though Brian was going to be having words with Bitch after we were clear of wandering eyes. Way to fucking blindside us like that. Don't worry, not like we're in the middle of anything important. And it'll be up to me to make sure everything's copacetic during and after it all goes down. Great.

"I guess that's where I come in."

The odd member out of this little meet up stood from her seat in an out of the way booth. She'd showed up before everyone else and hadn't spoken throughout the whole thing. I had been ignoring her for as long as I could; wasn't going to risk missing something important while I tried to figure out why she was here. I had a few hunches anyway: it wasn't exactly a secret that the library she and her boss lived in had been bombed.

But she wasn't even a villain, so why was she here? How the hell had she managed to get an invite?

Well, she was the one taking center stage now, I let my power have a go at it.

 _Imagined Kaiser and Grue having sex for the last ten minutes._

I tried to fight back the spit take but wound up choking on my drink. Skitter gave a few hits to my back to try and help, plus I got a few dirty looks, but wow. I didn't know how I was going to use this information, but I had to. _Everyone_ had to know about this.

"Miss Patchy and I will have Bakuda by Friday, but just on the off chance any of you find her first, we're willing to pay a reward for her alive. A couple million dollars or so in gold, maybe a favor or two. Something like that."

Hookwolf spoke up as soon as she stopped talking. "You really expect to find her in three days?"

"We already found her. We're just waiting for the best day to take her out."

 _Patchouli's power changes every day. Power's elemental aspect depends on the day of the week. Waiting on the day that counters Bakuda best._

Huh. Powers are weird. Guess her claim at seven powers wasn't a lie. Coil had been adamant about not focusing on Patchouli, so I hadn't done much research into her. This conversation had managed to pique my interest. I was going to be digging deeper into this when I had free time.

"Are you fucking with us? You know where the hell she is and you're not gonna tell anyone? We could take her out now and then deal with Lung. She's the bigger fucking problem."

She put her hands on her cheeks and did an exaggerated look of shock. "Oh my, _me_? _Fucking_ with someone? Does that sound like something I would do?"

 _Faking emotional response._

Oh, thanks power, I couldn't figure that out on my own.

 _Uses sarcasm to mask her lack of emotions. Only feels select emotions in relation to certain criteria. All actions are faked, meant to imitate a human thought process. Not human. Never was human._

Now that is interesting. Also, a little fucking terrifying. Not human? What the fuck? I think I played off how fucking shocked I was of that little tidbit pretty well. I had researched "Little Devil" a bit for Coil. Gotten down a few ideas about her power. Those "scrying blockers" she claimed to have didn't seemed to affect my thinker powers any, but Coil was "interested" in them. More like worried.

I took a look at Faultline's Crew, just for a little comparison. Perhaps it was the Case 53 thing. I turned my focus on Newter and then to Gregor.

 _Human. Human._

Well, that proves that. There's something going on here and I was going to figure it out. I had to focus back on the conversation, got a little too wrapped up in my thoughts. Coil was trying to calm everyone down. Didn't seem like withholding information and pissing people off was going too well for Koakuma. She wasn't even paying attention. Just glancing around the room as Coil smoothed everything over, looking at each person individually before her eyes landed on Skitter. Her grin changed into a smile.

 _Recognizes Skitter. Recognizes her civilian identity. Excited. Imagining scenarios in which Taylor and her boss hook up. Contemplating how to achieve those scenarios._

I cut off my power there, clamped down as hard as I could. I didn't want to waste my time delving into this woman's weird fantasies. Might be fun as a hobby, not during a dangerous super-villain meeting.

Besides, I was getting sidetracked from the important part of that realization. She knew Skitter. She had _recognized_ Taylor.

That shit at the boardwalk was looking a lot less like some accident with a couple of bumbling rogues from the west coast. Especially two complete unknowns who had managed to get broken out of a prison van on the way to their trial.

"You were invited here in the hopes that you would provide something," Coil said. "Intel or assistance in fighting the ABB. Even a rogue, like yourself, must recognize we are best equipped to combat the dangers Bakuda poses to this city."

 _Not Coil. Taking remote orders on what to say. Used as a protective measure. Coil seeks to distance himself from danger. Coil noticed small discrepancies in power. Common theme is with Koakuma and Patchouli around. Using this meeting as a test._

Coil having problems with his powers? Good, fuck him. Hopefully, with some new problem to focus himself on, he would be on my ass less. Although, that _would_ explain all the research he had me doing into her at least.

"And I am, I'm letting you know that if you find Bakuda first, we'll pay you for her. Alive though. Miss Patchy would want her alive. I really don't care besides that. She won't be able to do much before we find her."

I noticed a lot of nervous energy in the room, people glancing at one another. Trying to be discreet, but it was obvious that everyone here was upset at how disrespectful she was being.

"You're earning yourself no friends here."

She shrugged. "I really don't care."

 _Does not care. Incapable of caring._

Nice power, nice. Get back to the not human part, please.

 _Not human. Never human. Biological tells faked. Receiving input from outside source. Projection._

I cut myself off there. So, the new rogues in Brockton had something to hide. There was absolutely no way this was another part of Patchouli's power. I'd never heard of anyone with that many powers. Either this girl was a new Eidolon or they were hiding something. I was, of course, going to find out what. And if they were involved with hurting Taylor, making her life a little worse, then they'd be paying for it. They might have helped push her over the edge into _really_ joining the Undersiders, but that wouldn't earn them any kudos from me.

The meeting was wrapping up, Koakuma refusing to say anything else and using the truce to keep from suffering for it. Making enemies of almost everyone in the room. Still, no matter how much they hated her, no one was going to turn down the money if it came to it. No matter how shitty she had been, it was still a couple million in gold. All that I was left with was plenty of questions I would need to work through, especially for Taylor's sake. She was a friend, it was my duty to watch out for her.

I was glad that the first patrol to look for Bakuda wasn't going to be for another day or two. I wasn't going to be able to do anything with the Thinker headache I'd be getting tonight.


	17. Chapter 16

This was the super-secret hideout? _This_? Ugh, so disappointing. What happened to the days of fortresses and dungeons? Castles and catacombs? This was no place for a showdown between two powerful foes. An ugly, old warehouse, just like all the others around here? Sure, fine, I get it. We're all out looking for her, she needs somewhere discreet to hide, but can't you at least have some style? Miss Taylor's library was classy and cool, even with the repairs, and it was only a mile or two away from here. I felt gypped and had half a mind to go in and complain about it myself.

At least Miss Taylor was doing her best to make the view more enjoyable. I was careful not to be too obvious; she had smacked me up and down last time she caught me ogling her, and not in the fun way. You can't blame me for it; she had come dressed for war. Well, yeah she was just wearing her usual outfit but had a very stern look on her face.

Ooh, she just looked so hot like this. So calm, so focused. My brave, little warrior, ready to fight for my honor. To take down the woman who had imprisoned me. I'm sure she had all kinds of things up her sleeve to rain down hell on this woman. She even brought out the spell book she'd been working on all week, and I couldn't wait to see what she had planned. It was so romantic doing this together. I'd been so busy snooping for clues that I hadn't been able to spend even six hours combined with her since this search started.

That brought a grimace to my face. I was still peeved that stupid bug had managed to find the building while I couldn't. I was sneaky! I was discreet! I'd taken down _dozens_ of people but absolutely no one had been willing to spill where this place was. Even with a little bit of charm to help smooth the interactions. It was almost like they were terrified of something. I knew that damn bug was smug about managing to get here first too. Oh well, at least I'd still be important after this.

I couldn't imagine any scenario where a single dragonfly under Miss Taylor's control would become a plot point.

We were peeking around a corner from where the lab supposedly was. I say supposedly because you could never be too sure with the shoddy work of a stupid dragonfly. I wanted the two of us to go in blasting, knock the place down right away and dance on the ashes. No need for a stakeout. Miss Taylor vetoed that idea pretty quickly. She had started talking about honor and vengeance before I realized she was probably quoting a cartoon and started filtering her out, while I thought about more important things.

I already knew the gist, anyway. She wanted to take Bakuda out on her own, in some final showdown. That was something I could get behind, especially if it was behind Miss Taylor~. There wasn't anything weird about playing with your food before devouring it. But Miss Taylor didn't have many discreet spells to take people out with, especially not on the Day of Metal, so she wanted to avoid rushing into the fight in case she alerted Bakuda. She had some secret stuff planned, hopefully as amazing as what she did to those cultists, but it was all hush-hush. All I knew was, it was going to be something big and she was going to shove it right in Bakuda's face.

So, it was my job to get her close enough to give a cool line before all hell broke lose.

It was also my job to be lookout; watch who was coming and going and see if there were any patterns or guard rotations. Let me tell you, we had already been standing outside this place for two hours and I hadn't seen _anything_. There were two guards at the front door, smoking cigarettes and chatting. That was it, no one came and no one went; the guards didn't even seem to work in shifts. They weren't checking their watches or looking around for anyone. They didn't even patrol the perimeter. It felt like I was going to watch these two guys standing here for the entire day, both of them probably as bored as I was.

You could only imagine lewd scenarios with your master for so long before it just feels repetitive.

These guards were different than I expected. They looked much calmer than all the other guys who had been running around the city these past few days. Those guys were all jumpy, especially when you popped in front of them and started assaulting them. With how many followers she had and how loyal they were, Bakuda must be a good boss. Or she was holding their families hostage. Maybe both.

 _Finally_ , Miss Taylor pointed and gave a single nod. That was my signal. Well, it had better be because I was already teleporting. I had been ordered to do a more "discreet" teleport, which I had reluctantly agreed to. It just wasn't right for a Succubus to not give off a little show with everything she did. I shifted myself over from here to there and _boom_ ; there wasn't any explosions, fire or brimstone, but I made the sound effect in my head anyway. The guards jumped a little but then forced themselves to hold still. Probably used to that other teleporting guy popping up like this all the time. Perfect, those instincts gave me the chance to finish this fast.

I stuck the knives I was carrying in both their throats. Blub-a blub blub, drown in your own blood. Haha, I kid of course. Miss Taylor would never let me do something like that, not with her right here. And besides, they would bleed out long before they started drowning. Instead, I smashed one in the face. Hard. Then grabbed him by the back of his neck and lowered him down gently, so he didn't make any noise by collapsing. His friend just stared at me while I did it too; the brain always takes a second or two to catch up with what it's seeing. My focus was on the other guard before he had the sense of mind to reach for his gun. Good, because I couldn't let him shoot me. Gunshots were loud and hurt a little bit. I needed to take him down in the most efficient way possible.

First I ripped his pants down; this was a move that I had plenty of practice with. No danger of him shooting if his gun was out of reach. Next, I swirled around him, wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him _really_ tight. I was also good at this part, a surprising number of people were into this sort of thing. First, he tried to struggle, then he got all twitchy, and then he stopped. I gave him a pat on the head. Nighty night.

Miss Taylor floated over, still serious. Even if she didn't show it, I knew she had to be proud of my thoughtful take downs. See Miss Taylor, I can hold back. You should definitely release my restrictions a little bit, let me have some more fun.

Well, that was a discussion for a different time. Head in the game Koa, you don't want to miss out on this. Miss Taylor floated up to the door and knocked, sharp and… _hard~._ She tried to discreetly shake her hand behind her back but of course, I saw. Aww, Miss Taylor, there's no need to feel self-conscious about being a little weak. Besides, you should know by now that I watch everything you do; a servant must be aware of everything her master's needs~.

Miss Taylor started counting down and then uttered a few quick words once she hit zero. The door exploded inwards like a shotgun blast. Except it was quiet, imploding without the sound of metal or anything. On one hand, it felt kind of disappointing to have the effect without the boom to accompany it. On the other, _damn_ wasn't that creepy. Miss Taylor has been working on unsettling her opponents I see.

I peeked inside and saw someone lying on the ground surrounded by crates and tools and all these little metal balls, cursing and, surprisingly, not too badly injured by the metal shards that had to have blasted her. I'm not sure how Miss Taylor knew how long it would take for someone to come over to answer the door, but that was nice guess work. Guess that dragonfly scouted this place out better than I had thought.

Miss Taylor floated a little ways in, catching the person's attention and pushed her glasses up in that way which made them glint in the light. Looks like my part of the jobs was over, now I got to stand back and enjoy the show.

"Hello, Bakuda."

-Scene Change-

The lab looked much more intimidating on the inside. I would never tell Koa I agreed with her, but I had wanted a better final showdown location. It just didn't feel right to start a battle you'd built up so much in your head at a dirty old shipping warehouse. Now that I got a look around Bakuda's lab, it seems my wish had been granted. The room had been filled with dozens of tables covered in tools and half completed ideas. Piles of boxes littered the floor, stacked high with the mad scientist's finished projects. Weird things I couldn't even identify glowed and hummed, tucked in corners all around the room. There was a sinister aura hanging in the air; you could tell that something evil went on here, that someone evil lived here.

Now, _this_ was a lab. My opinion of Bakuda went up just a little bit after seeing it.

"Hello, Bakuda."

The Tinker was quick on the draw, very quick. She'd managed to grab her grenade launcher before I could do anything to stop her. Her finger pressed down on the trigger just as I pulled off a quick spell. Part of the ceiling collapsed to form a barricade, barely blocking the bomb that hit it a second after. Something exploded on the other side and space warped. The objects around the detonation growing and shrinking, distance altering as the fabric of reality was stretched like taffy.

One bomb. Her current launcher held a maximum of five before she would need to reload and I was certain the thing was packed full. I just had to make sure I didn't get killed before she ran out.

Luckily, it was the Day of Metal, and I had plenty around me to use. Bakuda swerved around the fallen roof and fired again. A cart slammed into it halfway between us. It exploded, which I was prepared for; the sudden pull afterward, not so much. Tools, tables, and bombs were sucked in and disappeared over the event horizon of what could only be a black hole. I banked hard in the other direction as I tried to keep from being pulled in as well.

Bakuda had grabbed onto a table nailed to the ground. Her aim didn't waver as she followed me. As soon as the black hole burned itself out, she fired again.

Corrugated steel was ripped out of the ceiling. Parts of the walls summoned as barriers. My frantic attempts at a blockade managed to stop this bomb a few yards from me; too close for comfort. A pillar of ice jetted out from my improvised shield, everything around it encompassed in a layer of frost.

"Did you think it would be that fucking easy!" Bakuda yelled in the din that followed the last explosion.

I flew from one piece of cover to another, an explosive with a more mundane effect going off behind me. I got a brief glimpse of where she was, what she was doing. My magic grabbed hold of a pile of bombs and threw them at her general location. I heard a lot of crashing, but little else.

"Did you just try to take me out with my own fucking gear?!"

The last bomb went off a bit to my left; I hadn't heard her fire that time. This was why I had planned for this scenario. I was a glass cannon. Blocking and dodging could only hold for so long. I needed to take her out fast. She had to be reloading right now; I'd supplied her with plenty of ammo. She was probably hiding under a table or behind one of the barriers I had pulled up during our fight. I could just barely hear the scrape of bombs being shoved down the tube.

I floated into what I approximated to be the center of the room and inhaled softly, letting my thoughts become clear. The book in my hand flipped open and I annunciated these words, loud in the quiet of the battlefield.

"Mercury Poisoning."

A magical circle formed around me, a conduit to channel everything through. Bits and pieces of the metal around me began to chip off and float over: parts from the floor, the ceiling, the walls, the furniture, the tools and scrap that littered the place. Every piece subsumed, transmuted, and ejected out into a complex pattern.

The room exploded into lights. Hundreds and hundreds of lights. Swirling groups of interlocking blobs that formed circular patterns around me as they filled up the space of the lab. My attack crashed through the room like a luminescent tsunami. The sheet metal, the ice, everything started to dent and crack under my continued assault. Bakuda didn't even have the chance to see what was happening before it was upon her.

I almost wasn't able to see her through the waves of magic, but I could just barely make out the black-suited woman trying to dodge through the worst of it The bullets smashed against everything in rhythmic patterns. Ice shattered, metal bent and all the carefully laid equipment and tables were toppled over, sent flying in some cases. She seemed so small in the chaos left in the wake of my barrage. She rushed, ducked and took as few hits as she could but it wasn't helping any. Her grenade launcher had been hit during the first volley that blindsided her and I had a feeling it was currently too damaged to be useable. No, she was tanking bullets while she attempted to do something, set off some trap; I was sure of it. Her arm kept pointing at areas, her gaze swirling around the room, her leg stomping into the floor as she tried to get something to work. Her actions becoming more and more frantic as absolutely nothing happened.

"What the fuck!?" Was clearly audible even over the noise, God she was pissed.

I was enjoying seeing her like this. Although, a tiny part of me sighed in relief that her body hadn't been torn apart by the bullets. In the end, it was only mercury, but it was still dangerous. Well, mercury was always dangerous but now it was charged in a way that gave it more oomph than any liquid had any right to possess. All of it was held together at my will and the potential lethality of each bullet was readily apparent. Bakuda's outfit obviously protected her to some degree against damage but...it had been a measured risk. That was a worst-case scenario. I did not want to stain my hands again, but it was a reality that anything could happen in a fight.

It would have been incredibly unfortunate to have her die, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

My smile grew and grew as the spell wore on and on. I continued to float around listlessly, ensuring my attack encompassed the entire room, as I watched things fall apart for Bakuda. Her armor started to give way, denting and weakening as the attack continued unabated. No cover left to hide behind. Nowhere else left to run. No chance of escape. At some point, her strength dissipated and she was left to my mercy.

The bullet hell she was in took over from there. Her body bounced between hits as the spell wore her down, before overpowering any remaining strength she had and flinging her about like a rag doll. I tried to keep it up as long as possible but it was a difficult spell and I wasn't feeling my best. Besides, only a lunatic would have been able to keep going after this. At about thirty seconds in, I deemed her suitably chastised and dropped it.

She was still a danger though, even unconscious...well, possibly unconscious; I reminded myself to remain vigilant of that. I reached out to all the metal on her and pulled, which ended up ripping most of her gear off. Rings, the remains of armor, her helmet, almost everything she wore came flying off her. Thankfully she had clothes on underneath; Koa would have loved the chance to tease me about stripping my enemies. I gathered all of these things into a large ball of potentially dangerous objects. I clapped my hands together and it all smashed into one clump, grinding and screeching as they were crushed by a tremendous pressure on all sides. I let the metal components collapse to the ground and looked around the warehouse. Nothing seemed to be going off so I deemed my work at stopping her bombs a success.

I allowed myself just a little bit of smugness. My plan had worked perfectly. Metal was largely an element of abundance, of wealth. Good for transmuting and creating large quantities of material. Also, good for countering someone whose primary attacks involved materials largely made up of metal. Still, it left room for error, for a surprise attack. I didn't want to rush in and , then get caught up in some bomb trap while I tried to counter all her gadgets.

Mercury Poison was an attack I had created that combined both metal and water. Water oriented spells were characterized by two things; silence and purification. Since I was performing this on the Day of Metal, it was far better optimized for metal's characteristics, but still retained many of the abilities gifted to it by water. I'd crafted this spell specifically to ensure that the end-product was something that would pack a heavy punch while interfering with any commands Bakuda sent out using her tinkertech. The liquid nature of mercury only helped play off the inherent magical properties of water.

In essence, the spell interfered with technology; it shutdown signals, turned off systems and left electronics inert. By the end of my attack, everything in the lab had been shut down, inoperable. Bakuda had as much a chance of setting these bombs off as I did, and without a grenade launcher to use, she had been completely at my mercy.

She still was, now that I thought about it.

"Koa, grab her. We're heading home."

-Scene Change-

Koa had tied up Bakuda as soon as we got home and laid her out on the front lawn. That demon knew a disturbing amount of knots and ways to tie someone up with a rope. This was a little tidbit I was not going to think about any more than I needed to. Bakuda had been stripped of everything except for the clothes she had worn under her power armor. I set up a bit of a privacy fence so I wouldn't get asked any questions later, which is to say I pulled a large metal wall out of the ground around us. Then, I grabbed a lawn chair to sit in, while Koa handled the next part.

"Wake her up."

Koa smacked Bakuda in the face so hard that I flinched. It worked as a wake-up call; the villain started shouting, dazed and confused, before Koa threw her onto the ground. As soon as she got her thoughts together, she began cursing and flailing around, looking really silly as she did so. Not much she could do all tied up like that.

She seemed surprised by her position. I guess I would be too.

"Hello again, Bakuda."

Bakuda didn't react well to me. She began to curse again, insulted me, insulted my family, insulted Koa. This wasn't getting us anywhere and was really annoying to listen to. Rude too.

"Koa, could you please gag her?"

Koa pulled out a ball gag; I couldn't even feign surprise she had one on her person. She wrapped it around Bakuda's mouth and the villain lapsed into merciful silence; a silence filled with grunts and squirming as Koa held her down. I just pretended I wasn't seeing anything. I leafed through my book for a few chapters. So many interesting things to discover about transmutations, I could barely believe it! Eventually, Bakuda began to stop struggling. I marked my place and set my book down on my lap.

"Good, are you finished?"

Bakuda didn't answer of course, but I got the sense she was finished with her tantrum. She might still be angry but cursing and fighting were both equally useless. I motioned for Koa to remove the gag. Bakuda wisely chose not to start up again as soon as it left her mouth. I looked down at her and...

Oh, yeah, Bakuda was definitely still mad. No, mad was insufficient: pissed, furious. I wasn't sure if those adjectives could even come close to describing the hate she must feel for me right now. Without a mask, I had a clear view of her face...and oh boy. Actually, not having a mask might have contributed to her being this upset. And kidnapping her after beating her up. And destroying her lab. Well, those were considerations for another time. It needed to get to the root of the matter.

"You blew up my library."

Her expression didn't change much at that. I guess she expected that to be the reason I grabbed her.

"I never interacted with you, didn't care about you, didn't even know who you were before all this. I'm not even involved in all this superhero stuff, but you blew up my library. Why."

"Fuck you."

"Koa."

I gestured towards the ball gag hanging in my familiar's hand and Koa grabbed Bakuda by the neck. The bomber flailed a bit before shouting "Fuck, wait, stop!"

Koa stopped and I waited.

Bakuda took a few deep, calming breaths before continuing. "I'm not an idiot. If I was going to get Lung out, I needed everyone out of the picture when I did it. Attack every group at once, get them all focused on protecting themselves. The Protectorate needed to be spread everywhere, trying to defend the whole city at once. Your place was just another target the Protectorate would need to help with, even more important because you're a rogue."

"Huh."

Looking at things objectively, that made a little bit of sense. As one of the few rogues in this city, the Protectorate probably would have been happy to help if I had bothered to ask them. Maybe even eager to try and get me indebted to them. A mass bombing campaign would get everyone scuttling around, while she got Lung out. Every major group would be panicking, while she gathered her strength.

Actually no, that seemed really dumb now that I thought about it for more than a minute. Of course, as soon as you attacked everyone, all those people that you had bombed would come together, form an alliance, and stomp her down for what she had done. Sort of like what was happening right now.

I decreed my judgement on her.

"You are most definitely an idiot."

"Fuck you!"

She was back to thrashing again. And cursing, cursing a lot. She was angry, powerless and she really wanted to hurt me but would settle for just not looking weak. Getting whatever digs in that she could. I had to speak up to be heard over her.

"I thought a lot about how I was going to get you back for this. I researched spells on altering the mind: depression, anger, nightmares, all sorts of things. None of that seemed appropriate. Koa was trapped in one of your time stop bombs, but that isn't an effect I think I'll be able to recreate. Plus you wouldn't even really care about it, you'd be completely unaware after all. Then I heard about a bomb of yours that turned everyone into glass. I took this idea from that."

I nodded at Koa and she ripped the ropes tying Bakuda apart with one hand. Her nails were unnaturally sharp enough to cleave through it in one swipe. I opened the spell book that sat on my lap and started casting.

Koa threw Bakuda forward and the tinker landed on her knees, letting out a yell as she fell forward. She didn't even waste a second before jumping to her feet and trying to attack me. It didn't work of course. Her attempt at a lunge was halted abruptly as her feet had turned to stone and were stuck to the ground. It didn't take long for her legs to follow and for the tinker to realize what was happening. She let out a shout and tried to move, tried to twist away, reached her arms out as if to choke me. The entire time she was shouting and screaming. I wasn't able to understand it; she was freaking out a little bit and the speed of her transformation didn't allow her any time to articulate her words sufficiently. I think it was just another curse on me or my family but Bakuda stopped being able to make sounds before I could decipher it. She just stared back at me, stone faced.

I had barely gotten through the spell without permanently injuring myself. Things like this weren't meant to be done. Magic was a process of creating natural phenomenon through means that were anything but. It worked like a science in many aspects, though much more metaphorical than mathematical in some of its most basic principles. Lead to gold? Fine, shifting around structures and lattices, removing electrons and protons in a way that normally wasn't possible. Attacks of compressed energy? Tiring but feasible, it was just forcing a different physical property on something. Doing something against the most natural laws? A great deal harder. Just as you couldn't create something from nothing, incredibly robust transformations like this just weren't meant to happen and my very being warred against a spell that did so.

Which is to say, I was coughing up blood when the last syllable left my lips.

Koa was already behind me, patting my back, keeping me upright. I was glad I was in a chair; I would have had to drop a levitation spell. She handed me a handkerchief and I wiped away what little red stained my lips. Very thoughtful of her.

Bakuda stood frozen, a monument to my hate. God, didn't that sound edgy? No way I was describing her like that again. Ok then, a warning for those who opposed me. No, that made me sound evil. Maybe a memorial to those who dared cross me. Wow, that sounded even worse.

Forget it. I'd have to think of a better description later.

I inspected the beautiful marble stone now decorating my lawn. At first, I had thought about making her out of gunpowder or something explosive but realized how stupid of an idea that was and just gone for something that looked good. Magicians always did idiotic things like that, more interested in making a statement or doing something symbolic than using common sense. I wasn't going to be someone who fell into that hole and definitely wasn't going to have a huge explosive sitting outside my house.

I let the privacy fence fall apart. Koa wrapped an arm around me to help me walk. At least, I hoped that's why she was doing it. I sauntered up to my statue and gave a weak smile as I pet her stomach.

"Don't worry Bakuda, I'll let you out soon enough. I'm just putting you in time out for a little while. Hopefully this will give you time to think about your actions."

I hobbled away and as soon as I thought Bakuda wouldn't be able to hear me I whispered to Koa, "you don't think that was too much, do you? I felt like I was acting a little cringe-worthy there." My voice came out raspy and weak.

"Oh no, Miss Taylor, don't worry. You were positively captivating. You put on an amazing show."

"Good, good." I ran my hand through my hair. I had been a little worried that had all come out with me looking like an idiot. I didn't want anyone thinking I was a powerful magician with the mindset of a teenage shut-in. "What…what were we supposed to do now?"

"Endbringers."

"Right! Endbringers, right. Yes, okay I kinda got so caught up in finding her and all that stuff. Okay, yeah…yeah, let's…let's go do that." I broke out into a series of rough coughs and would have fallen over if it weren't for Koa's arm around me. "Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow. I'm going to bed."

"I'll make you some tea and tuck you in then."

I took one last look at Bakuda as we headed for the door.

"And can you get a birdbath or something? That just looks stupid standing out there on its own."


	18. Chapter 17

The last week had not been kind to my health. All of the late nights poring over books and testing out spells had played havoc on my sleeping schedule, which had, in turn, negatively affected my constitution. Turning Bakuda to stone had only been the death blow for the house of cards that was my immune system. I'd managed to get the flu shortly after all of that had gone down, and I should have been happy the flu was _all_ that I had gotten.

I'd tried to ignore it for as long as I could manage. I had just gotten back into the swing of my research and didn't want to stop right after I'd started up again. A day's worth of dry heaving followed by hot and cold spells - and not the kind I threw around - had proven that infeasible. So an executive decision had been made. I had hunkered down in my house, wrapped in blankets and settled myself on our living room couch. Koa had been tasked with keeping up with all my research in the meantime. I'm sure she could handle it.

But there had been an unexpected complication.

"Dad," I said, my stuffy nose making my voice come out distorted and whiny "it isn't a big deal. I didn't think you would notice."

I had been planning on playing video games and browsing the internet until I felt better, but Dad had other ideas. I hadn't really noticed, with how busy I was, but dad had been ready to chew me out the last couple days. I hadn't noticed because I hadn't actually been around to get chewed out. With me incapacitated, he was given the chance he had been looking for. Dad's demeanor was as solid as rock; he barely stopped for breath in the ten minutes he'd already spent going over my flaws and faults. Any sympathy from my illness had disappeared under parental outrage.

"It _is_ a big deal, Taylor! How could I not notice something like this?" Dad said, gesturing towards the person who had caused this entire debate.

The girl dad was pointing at was trying as hard as she could to just curl up until she disappeared. It was so cute that I almost forgave her for causing me distress. Almost. She looked young and acted younger. You wouldn't be wrong for thinking she was nine-years-old. Her hair was an outrageous purple and she had matching purple wings: long, cloudy things that trailed behind her when they weren't wrapped around her.

The way she was dabbing at her eyes, where unshed tears were just barely held back, would have caused even the most apathetic viewer severe emotional damage. A lesser woman would have let her go, not wanting to see a child subjected to something like this. Me? I was keeping her right here. If I was getting in trouble for this, so was she.

Besides, fairies really shouldn't be bothered by things like this. They were irritants, and commonly found themselves subjected to tirades after their pranks fell apart around them. She should be used to talks like this by now. Dad wasn't even aiming it at her! I just couldn't figure out how Koa had managed to mess things up this badly. A Fae would have been perfect, well versed in trickery and deceit, but fairies were not known for either their intelligence or subtlety. It was no wonder Dad had been able to see through the glamour.

"I was really busy this week," I mumbled, "I needed the extra time to get everything finished up."

My mumbling was caused solely by the flu. I had faced a mad bomber down the week before. I wasn't intimidated by a conversation with my dad.

"Then _talk to me_ , Taylor. I'm your father. You're working hard, trying to keep up with your new job and everything that goes along with that. Your mother was the same way for as long as I knew her. Just let me know next time. I'll understand if you want to work late for a few nights to finish something important. Just don't try and get around your curfew by tricking me with some...magic kid."

I guess this situation requires a bit of an explanation. Dad wasn't the most overbearing parent but he had been pretty strict on me coming and leaving at all hours of the day. I tried to keep a schedule, but magic waited for no woman. After the first time he caught me coming back through the portal at two in the morning, I had been assigned a curfew. I'd managed to keep to that pretty well. Then I'd skipped a few meals to get in some extra work hours and dad had ordered me to be at breakfast, lunch, and dinner no matter what. No big deal. I had managed to keep work going strong with a few limits put on me. At least, for a while. Then, with Bakuda, things got a little heated. I couldn't just stop research at critical times; there had been so many moments I was just barely away from a breakthrough and on a very short time frame to finish everything. So I had outsourced.

I had first gotten Koa to pretend to be me around dad for a while…something that even on recollection sounds like a horrible idea. Obviously, that didn't work; I needed Koa to go off and do things for me. So, Koa had outsourced my outsource.

Somehow, she had come upon a no-name fairy (I think the fairy had no name at least) and drafted her into my service. Anyway, she had just had thrown her in with a minor disguise spell to make her look like me. Someone to fool dad during bedtime or when I had to skip a meal. Should have been easy. But miraculously she had failed, and here we are now.

And I guess he might have a good point. I could have spoke with him about how important it all was. But how was I supposed to know Dad would be so understanding? This was too important to be left to the whims of my dad. If he had pushed, I might have had to explain what was really going on. Right now, he thought I was just researching things all day as part of a job given by more influential mages.

I…might have kind of maybe tricked him into thinking I was doing something that was part magic-internship and part magic-college. It was better this way. Really. It wasn't like I enjoyed lying to him like this. I'd love to tell him what was going on, but I didn't want him worrying or trying to get me to stop.

Instead, I just ducked my head as I said, "I'm sorry. I'll let you know next time."

And, hopefully, there would never be a next time. I didn't need any more distractions, or dad finding out the truth. I doubt he would be too happy about me getting ready to kill some huge, alien monster and three smaller, world-wrecking ones.

"Thanks kiddo. That's all I need."

Dad smiled and I smiled back. The fairy kept her head down and turned away slightly, not wanting to intrude on or observe such a close, familial moment.

"You're banned from playing video games for a week."

"Dad!" I screeched before breaking into a coughing fit.

He managed to plow through my dissent, and leave me unable to argue by switching topics abruptly. And worse, to something I would be embarrassed to talk about.

"Taylor, as your father I have to ask…do you have a boyfriend?" He stumbled a bit as he revised that statement. "Are you _interested_ in getting a boyfriend?"

He waited patiently while I finished hacking out a lung.

"No, dad. I do not. I'm not interested in any guys like that. I really don't want to talk about this."

"Alright Taylor, it's just…" He took a long look at the fairy. "With some of the things I've been hearing you say recently and some of the people you surround yourself with…I just want to make sure that - there isn't anything between you and Koa?"

Oh no. Hell no. I was not having this conversation with dad. Not again. I thought we had finished with these "are you dating Koa?" talks.

"Dad! This is not my child!"

Dad put his hands up in a warding gesture. "I just need to be sure. I'd still love and support you, even if she was."

Koa's voice suddenly chimed through my head.

'Miss Taylor?'

I was so grateful for the interruption that I latched onto it as quickly as I could.

"Oh, just give me a second dad. I got a message from Koa."

Dad gave me an incredulous look. Like he thought I might be trying to weasel my way out of this conversation. Thanks for the show of confidence dad. I held my hand to my head like I was concentrating intently. The action was superfluous, but it looked much better than just sitting here, staring into space as I talked with the demon in my head.

'What is it?' I shot back.

'You're needed in your library. The Undersiders are here to see you.'

I held my head in my hands and groaned.

-Scene Change-

I floated into my library to see about half of the villain group gathered around one of my longer tables. The know it all, the smoke man and the bug girl. I was sure I knew their names, but it was going to take me a minute to remember what they were. Koa had been kind enough to pour them all tea and get them settled in while I made my way here; it was surprising to see her playing the role of a good hostess. I just hoped she was being a good familiar too; if she had wasted the expensive tea that I'd gotten recently on these three, she'd be cleaning the entire library from top to bottom.

"What do you want?"

My question came out a lot snippier than I had intended. Sue me, I was sick.

The girl wearing purple smiled at me. It was a smile that instinctively made me want to smack her with a book in retaliation for some unknown prank. That was a Koa smile if I'd ever seen one. Luckily, Smokey took over the introductions.

"Glad to finally meet you. I'm Grue. This is Tattletale and Skitter. We're the Undersiders, or at least half of them."

Oh, right. Those were their names. That's fine, that's fine. Just play it off like you knew them all along.

"I'm sorry to be rude, but this has better be important. I am not feeling up to entertaining guests." I said. Ugh, my nose was stuffed up and my voice was just a mess. No one was going to take me seriously when I sounded like this.

Tattletale smiled even wider. That bitch.

"We thought we should stop by and set you straight on a few things." Grue said, managing to sound not too peeved by my reply. "After your role in helping take out the ABB, we thought we owed you a warning about what's going on in the city."

"I'm sorry, but I really don't care that much and if you can't tell, I don't feel well. Tell Koa the basics on your way out, I need to get my rest."

For some incomprehensible reason, they decided not to leave, after my rational alternative to their plan. In fact, Grue looked a little put out, or at least as put out as one can look when they're covered in a layer of smoke. Tattletale decided to intervene in the space left open by my reply.

"Oh, I think you'll appreciate our help once we've explained things. After all, the truce is going to end in a day or two. You might want to make sure you're prepared for whatever retribution comes your way for how you handled things."

"Ok, good, glad to know why you came here. I'll be sure to keep an eye open. You can leave now."

And yet they just kept sitting there. I was already tired from floating for so long and my head was feeling cloudy, so I had Koa bring me a chair to sit in. A large one, to dwarf the small stools they were all sitting on. It was a little bit petty, but I would take what I could.

"No, I think you need our help. For a rogue, you're breaking a lot of rules and don't even seem to realize it. Without us, one of the other gangs is going to pick you off as soon as you cause them a problem. Maybe even before that." Tattletale said.

"I'm sure I don't need your help. I'm not going to be bothering anyone else. This Bakuda attack was a one time thing. I doubt they'll be bothering me, especially since I haven't broken any of these rules." I threw up the last word with air quotes to show my thoughts on the matter. If I had been breaking rules, I'm sure someone from the Protectorate would have informed me by now.

"Wow, you really believe that, don't you?" Tattletale said. She gave me a sort of shocked look. I couldn't decipher whether or not she was faking it. . Either way, it looked horribly arrogant.

"Because, if I'm not wrong, you turned Bakuda to stone and stuck her on your front lawn. That's not the sort of thing people will be fine seeing. They're going to take it as a challenge to their authority." She continued.

Her companions froze up a bit at that. Well, Grue did at least. Skitter had been sitting unnaturally still through the whole meeting, so it was difficult to tell whether she froze up or if she was just continuing the trend. God, was that girl creepy.

It didn't look like Tattletale had informed these two what was going on. If I kept her on the back foot, I bet I could take control of this conversation and get them to leave my house. I focused on Tattletale and said the lie I had well-rehearsed by this point.

"I don't know what you mean. Unfortunately, Bakuda was killed while I was fighting her. I decided to set up a statue in memory of her on my front lawn. Also in warning."

Judging by the look Tattletale was giving me, she didn't believe it for a second. I probably should have expected as much. She had some sort of thinker power. Even worse, if she picked up on that subtle hint I threw in at the end, she wasn't taking heed of it.

"I thought getting to see you up close might help me figure some things out but I still can't make any sense of it. A new parahuman is nothing new, not even one who thinks she's using magic, but you've got backing. This place pretty much came out of nowhere and you don't have a rich family, or a job that would pay for it. You aren't allied with any gangs in the area. You're here for something important, and refuse to leave until you're finished, but I can't figure out why you're here or who set you up to it."

This was getting into uncomfortable territory. I did not want to sit through another visit from Contessa and hear about every way I could have avoided letting out crucial info. Tattletale had come here hoping to figure out something secret about me and I wasn't going to let her succeed.

"I believe it would be wise for you to leave before you say something incredibly stupid," I said. "Well, stupider. Anything more might end up getting you killed."

"I think you should know. I really hate being called stupid." Tattletale said, the smirk on her face now gone.

"Don't _you_ have anything to say?" Koa interjected, breaking the mood that had been building up between us.

I turned towards her, confused. I thought for a second she might be talking to me, but her finger was pointed straight at Skitter. If the girl was just as confused by her question, she didn't show it. She just continued staring and sitting. It took a moment or two for her to reply.

"I want her to stop messing with me."

Her voice was different than I expected. A lot like my own, actually. She looked so terrifying that the girlish voice seemed completely out of sync. I was a bit confused by her response as well.

"I haven't done anything," I said.

"The assault at the boardwalk comes to mind." Tattletale decided to interject.

Of course she would know about that.

"The Protectorate found the real criminals behind that incident and the investigation around me was dropped," I argued.

Tattletale just leaned back in her chair and shook a hand at me dismissively. Her eyes never left my face.

"Sure it was. Sure"

I couldn't tell, but I had the feeling Skitter was aggravated. She still wasn't showing any emotional tells, or really any human behavior, but I had a gut feeling.

"I'm not talking about that." She said and pointed towards me.

It took a second to realize she was actually aiming towards the dragonfly nesting in my hair. I sent a few feelings of questioning towards it and it replied back with rest. Nothing out of the ordinary. He was just relaxing, while he kept an eye on the intruders in our territory. There didn't _seem_ to be anything that should have gotten her angry.

Or…no, wait, she controlled bugs too. Was there some cross-interference with both our powers at play here? Was she just angry I was intruding on her domain? Both seemed to be likely explanations.

"Now, it wasn't anything personal. Miss Patchy decided on that stupid bug for a familiar before she was even aware of you. It was just a coincidence, don't think anything of it. I'm sure if you two talked, you would realize that there are many things you have in common," Koa came in again as a peacemaker. Very uncharacteristic of her.

Very suspicious.

I think I knew what she was playing at here and we would be having a talk about it later. But for now, I had verbal warfare to coordinate. Koa's soothing words didn't seem to be doing much; the few bugs that had managed to escape my wrath in the library were moving erratically around Skitter. I couldn't tell what she was planning, but I knew she was doing something. Perhaps a show of force would be good to keep her on her best behavior. I pushed on the connection between me and the dragonfly. It fluttered out of my hair and it began to grow. In the span of a few seconds, it had gone from its regular size to the size of a large dog. The Undersiders composed themselves extremely well in the face of that, only jumping a little bit.

"If she tries to do anything, stop her." I commanded. The dragonfly easily picked up on what I meant.

The growth was an illusion, a magical construct that housed the small bug inside of it, but the power I gifted to him was all too real.

"Miss Taylor, please, you shouldn't be doing things like this to our guests-" Koa started.

"Our _guests_ ," I had gotten too excited and started hacking as soon as I belted the words out. I nearly fell out of my chair at the sudden dizziness that came with it. Koa was beside me in an instant to steady me and everyone else was polite enough to wait, while I got myself together.

"Our _guests_ ," I started again, the words softer yet just as sharp as before, "are villains. I want to make sure that everything that happens here stays civil." Everything I said came out wet and weak, but I tried to stress the last few words. I wasn't going to be putting up with any fights today. Not with how ill I was. I was getting worked up, and my gasping breaths almost sounded like I was hyperventilating. The room felt so hot that it was almost unbearable. I shouldn't have performed that spell with my body in this state.

"I hope you don't think this is over," Tattletale said, her smirk holding a razor's edge. "I am going to figure out who you are and what you're doing."

"Good luck. Really, good luck. Hopefully, I won't have to stick you next to Bakuda. Now, I think I'll have Koa see you out."

"This…this didn't turn out how I thought..." I heard Koa murmur to herself as she watched the scene unfold before her.

The other two waited before Tattletale stood to head for the door. Koa went with them, putting one arm around Skitter as she whispered a few things to her, rather than talk to the group as a whole. I should care. There was definitely something going on there, but that was a worry for a different day. I watched them head for the exit, wanting to make sure they left before I headed back home.

Skitter sent one last glowering look my way as they exited through the front door. I had probably made an enemy there but I didn't care. Some stupid bug controller wasn't going to be the one to make or break my time on this Earth.

The last thing I heard before I was teleported back was Tattletale, catching sight of Koa trapped in the time stop bubble. "What the fuck! How does that work?"

I knew I should have thrown a tarp over it.

-Scene Change-

"Why are you still here?"

The fairy was sitting on my couch, eating some cookies with my dad, as the two of them watched TV. Dad had turned on some cartoons for her and she was enraptured. I was forced to drop a sphere of water on her head before she would pay any attention to me. I repeated my question and it took her a moment to remember.

"Miss Yukari said to give you a message."

She pulled a note out of her pocket and held it out for me. I took it and grimaced a bit at the soggy paper I was forced to unroll. Fortunately, the message was still legible, if falling apart in my hands. Yukari wanted a meeting with me in the next few days. If I had to make a guess, she was calling in her second favor. I sighed.

"Alright then, message delivered. You can leave now."

She just nodded at my words, still nibbling on the sweets as she focused again on the television. Apparently, being soaking wet was a secondary concern to missing Cartoon Network.

"I'm serious, get ready to head back. I don't have anything else I'll need you for and I'm not going to be putting up with a freeloader."

That elicited no more of a reaction than the comment before. Time to pull out the big guns.

"Dad, make her leave."

"Taylor, don't be so hard on her. She's just a child. If she wants to stay for a little bit, that won't be a problem."

"Thank you, Mr. Hebert!" She called out, her innocent exuberance masking the truth that lay beneath it. Fairies were child-like, sure, but they had a good amount of magical power and were more than happy to cause mayhem with it. Nothing good would come of this.

"Dad, please don't encourage her. Fairies are like birds. If you feed them once, they won't stop coming back."

Dad didn't even dignify me with a response. He just rubbed the top of my head as he went to go make lunch. I plopped myself back on the couch and tried to ignore the person sitting to my left. Trying to get into the confusing blur of shapes and colors that was this show. This wasn't what I had planned, but it would do for now. I was too drained to contest it. I would work on getting this fairy out of my house as soon as I was better. Hell, I would just bring her to Yukari's meeting in a few days.

How much chaos could she cause in a two days?


	19. Chapter 18

I trudged out of my bedroom, the burden of failure resting heavy on my shoulders. How could someone just barely under three feet weigh so damn much? I should have expected someone who slept all day to fight my attempts at waking her up, but now that she'd gotten the better of me she refused to get off. And trust me, I'd tried. She was gripping me like a vice, with her arms clutching my forehead and her legs wrapped around my neck. If I tried to pull her away, I just wound up choking myself.

I'd found that out the hard way.

It had been a lot easier when she had still been afraid of me. She had acclimated to my presence far too quickly, something I could probably blame on Dad. Perhaps I wasn't frightening enough. Witches were supposed to be frightening, weren't they? Maybe I should look into that. I'm sure Koa would have some tips.

"You won't stop the Fairy of Summer Dusk!" I heard her dramatically mumble into my hair.

It was aggravatingly cute and I wasn't going to let her kill my annoyance with her childlike innocence.

"Freeloader" as I had dubbed her, was like no fairy I had ever heard of. She slept, she ate, and she laid around – usually in that order - without really doing much of anything. Thinking about it, that might make her better than Koa, whose benefits were counterbalanced by her defects. For the most part, the freeloader just existed, only there to look cute and be in the background. Difficult to work with at times, but not really anything truly mischievous like I had worried about.

Perhaps she was easier to put up with because she looked so much like a kid. It was hard to hate someone who had such purity to her. If she had come out looking like one of my tormentors, say similar figure, attitude, and red hair, it probably would have been a lot easier for me to resent her.

That was all strictly hypothetical of course.

Still, she was a fairy so you couldn't really trust her with anything other than the most basic tasks. There wasn't a reason to really keep her around, so I was going to be handing her off this evening. Yukari had been the one to get in contact with Koa and make the offer in the first place; someone forming schemes against me with my familiar was worrying. I would be taking care of any potential problems that could arise from this immediately. There would be a few new additions added to my wards just in case and Koa's punishment would be swift and severe.

Dad had been bringing a lot of paperwork home lately. Perhaps the Dockworkers Union could use a secretary.

However, that was a thought for a different time. This was going to be an important meeting and I didn't want to accidentally start an incident by showing disrespect towards a powerful figure. I would be coming in dressed to the nines and adhering to every sort of magical etiquette I could find out about, and damn if the fairy was going to be the one to mess all that up.

"Get off, it's time for you to get dressed."

She didn't move. Expected, but annoying. I wasn't sure if she was awake or asleep, or perhaps drifting around between the two. You could only really get her up and about for a few moments every day. And waking her up to take her to an important dinner? Out of the question.

No, I was going to have to call in the big guns to deal with her.

"Hey, Taylor. Dinner will be ready in about…" Dad stopped when he caught sight of me. "She didn't want to get out of bed again?"

I decided not to dignify that question with a response. The answer was obvious enough.

"Do you want me to help you with her?"

"Would you please?" I asked, refusing to look him in the eye.

Dad walked over and gently pulled the fairy off of me – _of course_ , she let go for him – and carried her bridal style over to the couch. Good, if she was prone on a flat surface, we could get her changed without much of a fight. I'd picked out a dress for her, something nice that wouldn't get destroyed by her sleeping in it and would match with what I was going to wear. Dad helped me lift her up and get her clothes on, while the fairy mumbled things catchphrases in her sleep.

I thought about doing her hair but decided not to bother. She'd mess it up as soon as I turned my back on her.

As we finished, Dad just stood there smiling at me in a fatherly way. I couldn't take that look without knowing what he was thinking, "What?"

"I remember doing this to you with your mom. It's amazing how quickly I've seen you grow up Taylor. Maybe you'll be like this with your daughter someday."

"Dad, please," I said, a ducking my head down to try and hide my face. "Don't say stuff like that. I've been acting like an adult for a long time and I really doubt I'm even going to have a daughter to do this with."

"You're right, it could be a son too."

I sighed. "Dad, you know what I mean."

I sat down on the couch next to the Freeloader and Dad sat next to me. "Taylor, I know a lot of people at your age feel like they don't want to ever become parents but that can change. You never know how you might feel a few more years down the line. I know I wasn't thinking about kids when I was sixteen, but I'm so happy I have you in my life."

"No Dad, I'm serious. I couldn't even imagine a way for me to _have_ a daughter unless there were a magical explanation for it."

There was just too much to study for me to worry about a relationship, let alone raising a child. Besides, I couldn't have a kid around Koa. Just imagine what she would do to a young, impressionable mind.

Dad got one of those weird looks on his face before nodding at what I had said. I knew that he probably wanted grandchildren but this was for the best. I would live for a long while anyway, I didn't need a kid to continue my legacy for me. I would carve it into this world for all to see.

Oh…could he be worried that I might get lonely as I grow older? Maybe he was feeling the same and he was worried about it happening to me. Without Mom, and me busy as ever, he may be feeling how empty a home could get. I had suspicions it was why he enjoyed having the fairy around. Well, it wouldn't hurt to assuage his fears.

"Don't worry Dad, I'll always have Koa. You won't need to worry about me getting lonely."

There, he was smiling now. Not quite a normal smile, but a smile nonetheless. It made me feel a little bit better for him.

"Well, if we're all done here, I'll go and get dinner ready."

"I probably won't be eating much," I replied. "But ok."

Dad walked off to finish cooking, or whatever else needed to be done. I was a little hungry, but dinner wasn't on the forefront of my mind. The meeting tonight was going to have a short meal with it and I didn't want to fill up now. I needed to be clear headed and avoid that sluggish feeling after a large meal. I had done hours of research into magical customs in preparation for this, it would be silly to mess up because of something simple like that.

Instead, I would have to be careful, be on my best behavior and keep an eye out.

Today I faced a monster. Today I faced Yukari.

-Scene Change-

It would be impossible to explain how terrifying it is to sit across the table from the Youkai of Boundaries. The longer I was in her presence, the more I could feel this animalistic fear begin to take hold. There was something about her that my reptilian brain recognized as a legitimate threat, something I needed to escape from before it decided to stop playing with me and gobble me up.

And the worst part was, she hadn't _done anything_.

It was all in the small gestures, the actions, the way things that had been set up to leave me feeling uncomfortable. Yukari Yakumo was a big name in the magical world, very big. It was like having a personal meeting with Bill Gates, but he had the option to mow you down with a machine gun if you annoyed him. I had only managed to hear rumors about some of her exploits: attacks on the Moon, the ability to manipulate _anything_ at an impossibly broad spectrum, a magical world for the most powerful beings sealed off from ours.

I couldn't possibly express how much I wanted to research Yukari, how much I wanted to research Youkai. I was counting down the days until that damn favor ended. For now, I would just suffer through it and stay vigilant for any signs of betrayal. I doubted I could do much before she eviscerated me, but you never know.

I probably needed to stop focusing on that, it was only playing into the fear. Most of the things that contributed to this general feeling of unease may have just been cultural differences. Everything had been arranged exactly how Yukari liked it. The only concession I had managed to get from her was to remain in Brockton Bay, and I'd only been able to do that because of my fear something might happen at my library. My luck wasn't good enough to hold out for long, especially with how much I had tempted fate these last few days. I had booked a room at the Holiday Inn and Yukari had insisted on taking care of everything else.

Which was why I was kneeling at a low table arrayed with a variety of Japanese snack foods that I could barely identify. I didn't really trust Yukari not to try and screw me over, plus I wasn't very adventurous in my culinary tastes, so I stuck with tea. I didn't know what Youkai ate and I wasn't excited to find it out first hand.

I had heard things…

Anyway, I was pretty sure Yukari had done all this just to make me feel even worse about this whole meeting. I just felt lucky I wasn't obligated to try anything. You had to have food and drinks at a gathering like this, it didn't matter if they were actually touched. Whether with demons, youkai, or any other magical creature, interactions were always filled with pointless rigmarole. It was the one constant in magic.

Well, one of the constants in magic. The other I was sitting through now: boring small talk.

"And how has your time on that world been?"

"It has been fine," I replied. "Busy and with plenty of minor annoyances, but nothing I can truly complain about."

"Yes, I would imagine that problems would just keep cropping up for you."

Yukari pause here and her eyes flicked to the sleeping fairy. That bitch.

I resisted the urge to turn and look at the couch behind me. The fairy hadn't managed to last three minutes. She had walked in, grabbed some food off the table, gorged herself and promptly passed out. I shouldn't have expected any less of her; she was a fairy after all. It made things a bit easier for me anyway; I didn't have to make sure she kept up a good appearance for Yukari. I'd still be giving her a good talking to when we got home for not staying awake the whole meeting but that was a rant for later.

"But I would hope that things had calmed down for you after you settled in." Yukari continued.

"The last few days have featured several annoying characters, one after another. You know how people can get when an unknown just appears."

"Oh? Only annoying? I would think that the meeting between you and the Undersiders would have been a larger irritation for you?"

My eyes narrowed down on the women before me and I tried to stop my breath from hitching. It was physically difficult to keep my focus on her but that comment was worrying. More than worrying. There was no way she should have known about that, no reason she should have cared. That hermit was correct, I was being watched...but why? Why would one of the most powerful Youkai left care about _me_? I had a bit of power to me, true, but I wasn't nearly at the threshold where a being like Yukari Yakumo would even give me notice if it wasn't to get some foothold over me and I already owed her favors, so...why?

Logically, I asked her. "Oh? Where would you have heard about something as inconsequential as that? I'm sure you have far more important things to worry about."

Yukari smiled before flipping open her folding fan and hiding her face behind it. It left me breathing a little bit easier but no less anxious.

"I like to keep an eye on interesting people. I would hope you don't think I waste my time just helping anybody out, no matter what strange people come to find them. Mmm, what an interesting world you happened upon too."

Yukari leaned over the table while speaking and took a small skewer of meat from one of the plates. She straightened back up and stared me in the eyes as she took a slow bite, ripping the meat off the pole and then twirling the wood in her hand as she chewed thoughtfully. It was provocative, almost evocative, and I didn't know what to think about it. I chose to just sip my tea and gaze downward.

"Such an interesting world," Yukari began again, interrupting the awkward silence that manifested. "That I'd like you to help out a few other beings when they come to take a look at it."

"Your second favor?"

Yukari leaned back and supported herself with one hand behind her, the perfect example of aloofness. "Can't you be kind enough to just host a few potential friends? See where things go?"

She didn't even have the decency to look at me as she spoke. If it had been anyone but Yukari, I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from shouting no. Instead, I very diplomatically exhaled a calming breath and said, "I'm sorry but you know how things are in the magical world. I don't want to take the risk of watching over some unknown element without a reason to do so."

Yukari leaned herself back up to face me. "Then yes, it's your second favor to me. I would expect you haven't reneged on the first?"

I managed not to make a face. "I'm sure you would have known if I had."

Yukari made a tone of acknowledgment. "Yes, I suppose I would have."

Yukari's shikigami came up from where she had been standing in the corner of the room and placed a few pictures before me. "I'll need you to host a few…" Yukari trailed off here and started waving her fan in front of her as I looked at the pictures, "acquaintances of mine for several weeks, perhaps a month or two. You won't need to do much more than provide lodgings. They'll handle everything else on their own. I wouldn't want to burden you with their odd diet. The one in charge will be a bit dramatic but I'm sure the two of you will get along after a bit of time together. You should make sure to prepare some space for them; I would suggest your library."

"They cannot stay in my library," I said it with such utter finality that I was almost taken aback at my own tone.

Not that I _regretted_ saying it, mind you.

"Hmmm?" Yukari was one of those people who could sharpen the meaning of such subtle sounds and phrases to a razor's edge at only a moment's notice. She used it to great effect at my misstep. Still, I held firm.

"I am not going to allow a bunch of unknown monsters to traipse around my library."

I held the staring contest she initiated for as long as I could manage, barely able to keep going before Yukari closed her eyes and gave a wry grin. "Well, I'm sure it would be fine as long as you find everyone a place to stay. On Earth Bet of course."

"While we're talking about others," I gestured at the fairy. "I heard she was your doing?"

I phrased it as a question but we both knew what it really was.

"I was hoping to conduct a little experiment with her, much as I am with the people you will be hosting. Which is why I'll be needing you to also keep her on Earth Bet from now on."

"Why?" I was genuinely confused by this; some of Yukari's underlings might be testing the waters for something, but a fairies weren't known for their work ethic, especially not this fairy.

"It doesn't really matter why, now does it." Yukari smiled at me as she leaned forward once again. I almost instinctively moved back but was pretty sure I managed to hide it to look like I was adjusting myself.

"I think it's important to know what's going on. There's obviously something big happening behind the scenes and I'd like to find out what it is."

"And you will find out. Soon."

I couldn't imagine a more worrying way to phrase that. Nothing was worse than ominous statements and double meanings. I couldn't imagine things getting any worse.

Damn it. Why did I say that? I was just setting myself up for bad luck. Well, I shouldn't worry, I'd been saying a lot of things like that lately and hadn't had any problems yet.

'Miss Taylor?'

I managed to hide the jump at the sudden intrusion in my mind. I had specifically told Koa not to bother me unless…I really hope my luck had managed to hold out. Yukari was important and I really didn't want to accidentally insult her by grimacing in the middle of her speech on what I would be doing. I gave a silent prayer that this wasn't important, that Koa was annoying me for no reason.

'Please tell me this isn't important Koa.'

'A glowing woman just attacked the library.'

I had the sense of mind to not facepalm then and there but it was a close thing. I, unfortunately, didn't manage to hide the grimace.

Yukari picked up on it instantly. "Oh, is there a problem?"

I wasn't sure if she knew, or if that smirk she had just made you think the worst of her. I figured it may have been a little bit of both.

I spoke in a completely flat tone, as calmly as I could, "I apologize, but I have just received news from my familiar that there has been an attack on my library. Is there any way we could end this meeting now and possibly reschedule for a later date?"

Yukari put on this overly shocked expression that got me a little bit riled up. I held it in though; I was calm. Yukari smiled at me behind her folding fan. "I wouldn't have any problems with that. We've gotten everything important out of the way, I doubt we'll even need a second meeting to discuss things further. If you have uninvited guests at your home, hurry along and deal with them. Just be sure you're prepared for your new allies within the week. They're an...interesting bunch. Ran, come along."

A portal ripped itself open behind the two of them. Yukari's shikigami bid farewell to me and went first, with her master following behind her. Yukari stepped halfway into the portal, gave me one slight nod and then disappeared, leaving me alone.

That could have gone worse. It could have gone better, but it also could have gone worse. It had felt like I'd come very close to being obliterated by some great cosmic horror that I was only on the cusp of comprehending. And worst, she'd left me with _chores_ to work on. I'd have to figure out something to do about my guests and it would take a while for me to work out what Yukari had been hinting at. She was planning something, had to be. Old beings like that always were; they didn't have anything better to do. And it was horribly annoying that I didn't have the slightest clue what it could be. It had to be something to do with this other Earth, I was sure of it.

I'd worry about this later. I had more immediate concerns to deal with.

I could vaguely remember from my research some glowing Nazi villain. Purity. I didn't remember much about her, laser beams and basically acting like a big lamp. I couldn't figure out why she would want to attack my library. Ugh, had Bakuda not been enough of a warning? Fine then, it was time to set another example.

"Time to swat a bug out of the sky."

A yawn behind me broke me from my internal monologue. The Freeloader wiped at her face and looked around the room bleary-eyed before her gaze finally settled on me. She floated off the couch and almost wrapped herself around my neck. The look on my face made her think twice. She hovered in the air, looked around the room and asked.

"Is the meeting over?"

-Scene Change-

I walked out of my library, full of piss and vinegar, with Koa and the fairy trailing behind me. I'm sure I looked imposing as I burst through the front lawn, past my Bakuda statue, and swiveled around. I was looking for fires, explosions, anything really. And while the city around me looked damaged, I was noticing one major absence.

"Koa…where is the damage to my library?"

In my haste to get started, I had failed to take an actual look at the "attack" on my most treasured sanctum.

"Look, Miss Taylor, you can see where she struck!"

Koa pointed to a torn-out line that went along the road, into my library, and out the other side of the road. I floated up to take a closer look, my retainers following me. My library was pristine. It seems that my recent work with the wards had done exactly what I needed them to. My anger abated quickly after that, leaving me feeling a bit empty and irritated.

"Why didn't you tell me she didn't do any damage?"

Koa just shrugged. Typical. I would have to think up a suitable punishment for her later. The dockworker's new secretary would be starting tomorrow. And now I had a headache from all this excitement. Great.

I nearly asked where Purity was before realizing how stupid a question that was and just looked around. Even with the sun barely peeking out, her bright corona was an eye catching addition to the skyline.

"This isn't our problem, right? I mean, we shouldn't be involved with this sort of thing?" I asked Koa, already levitating towards the ground.

"No, no. That's something to be left for the Protectorate. We're only Rogues. We don't need to get into any legal problems."

"You're right, you're absolutely right."

"So how did your meeting go Miss Taylor?"

"Uhm?"

Koa and I halted as the fairy hesitantly interjected herself in front of us.

"S-shouldn't you…stop her?" Her voice came out timid and weak at first, almost as if the act of speaking was difficult, but got stronger as she continued.

Koa flicked the fairy in the head and the fairy let out a squeak.

"No, it's not our problem, so we'll leave it for someone else," she rudely explained.

"Koa, don't be mean to her, she's just a kid," Koa seemed to relent at that, folding her arms and looking to the side. "We shouldn't get involved because it is the Protectorate's duty to handle problems like this. We're just two rogue agents, uninvolved in all this nonsense. We're expected to hold back and let the authorities handle this."

The fairy frowned. "That sounds like a lame excuse!"

Koa flicked her in the head again. She let out a squeak and covered her forehead with her hands before shooting a glare at Koa.

"Koa, don't bully her."

My familiar relented again.

I almost got down on one knee but decided against it at the last minute. No, best to explain this like Mom would, from a position on high.

"We may have a lot of power, but we can't just go around using it whenever we like. It's best to leave these problems up to the Protectorate. You shouldn't run out and put your neck on the line whenever something pops up, or you might wind up getting it chopped off. Something like this gets a lot of attention. There's no way the authorities aren't already on their way to take care of her; she's eye-catching and causing a lot of damage. I'm sure she'd take precedence over anything else they have going on. We'd just end up getting in the way."

With the look on her face, I could tell that none of my logical reasoning had managed to get through to her.

"Well, I'm going to go out and stop her! You can stay here and do nothing! I'll be off fighting for Love and Justice!"

I nodded along. "Good luck then. Be sure to come back after you revive."

She pouted and flew off. She stopped after about ten seconds to turn around and look back to see if we were following here. When she realized that both Koa and I were still standing, she awkwardly turned back around and kept going. That was the most I think I'd seen here say in her entire time living with me. It was definitely the most I'd seen her move. I wonder what had managed to get her in that state.

She had been watching a few of my Sailor Moon dvds at home. I wondered if that could have possibly done anything...

I shrugged, I guess even fairies have a sense of right and wrong they held themselves to. Koa floated next to me as we headed back inside. I felt bad about leaving a fairy to go fly off to her doom, but she'd be fine. Death to a fairy was only a momentary setback. I felt a little guilty, sure, but it would help her in the long run; I was sure of it. Koa flew off to make me a cup of tea and I got ready to explain what had happened in the meeting. Of course, at that moment there was a loud knock on the door. I sighed and eyed where Koa had flown off to before deciding I didn't need Koa to do _everything_ for me. Besides, it would be good to see if the fairy had taken my advice to heart. And if it wasn't her, I could always check to see if she was fighting purity out there.

I already had a retort prepared as I pushed my front door open. "Back so soon? Decided you weren't-"

I was nearly blinded by what lay on the other side. You would never realize how bright the light Purity gave off was until she's right up in your face.

I covered my eyes as best I could and knew that I didn't hide the irritation from my voice as I asked, "What do _you_ want?"

"Hello, Miss Patchouli." I winced as the fairy made her presence known.

In the blindingly, bright light, I could just barely make out the shape of my fairy; the back of her dress gripped tightly in Purity's fist.

"I'm not in the mood to have people fuck with me tonight." Purity spoke to me in a tone far calmer than her words conveyed.

I slammed the door shut in her face.

I heard a muffled, "Miss Patchouli, noooooo," after I did it. I gave a huff, turned back to the door, turned away again, clenched my fists, and turned back to the door. She had my fairy. I pulled the door open.

"Let her go." I affixed my fiercest glare and tried my best to shoot it at where I expected her face to be.

Purity didn't say anything, assumedly staring at me defiantly. I also had to assume she wasn't very happy about me slamming the door shut in her face, something she would just have to deal with.

"The Undersiders decided to destroy my life tonight and I'm ready to share the misery."

Negotiations obviously weren't going to work and I wasn't interested in trying them anyway; luckily, I had a backup plan. I had been sitting on this spell for a good while now. There had never been any real reason to use it. It was so needlessly destructive and wasteful that I couldn't test it out without drawing unwanted attention and couldn't use it against any of the problems that came up in day to day life. But right here, right now? Yes, it would work perfectly, especially against this opponent. Today was the day of the Sun, of activity and offense. There was no more ironic way to take out someone like her than with a spell like this. I turned my eyes to the fairy in her hands. She looked injured, but not too badly injured.

"Run." I turned my attention back to Purity, took a few steps outside my library, and spoke two words.

"Royal Flare."

Minatare red dwarfs turned night to day. In contrast to her glow, I was a veritable galaxy of burning stars. How could she hope to compare? It was blinding, the fireworks display I had created. A bit overkill, but I could be allowed these small indulgences every now and then. A pattern worked itself into my mind and I set my attack going.

Purity fired back instantly. I was doubly glad for the wards as I swerved out of the way and the beam slammed into the library. I could feel the heat emanating from the light as it missed me by a foot or two. That was close. Too close. I began flying, doing my best to keep moving as I focused my attention on the light bulb.

Purity was tanking the spell a lot better than Bakuda had managed to. Each hit she took shook her up a bit, that was no surprise, but it only managed to shake her. I thought that after the first few impacts she would be down for the count. No, she kept flying through the spell and firing all the while. The fight was moving so fast that I hadn't even noticed as Purity's light got brighter and brighter, her attempts at dodging lessening more and more.

I was forced to cut my spell off halfway through just to focus on not getting hit. My body strained against every dive and roll I took but I had seen some of the damage that her blasts had done to the sidewalk and was interested in that not happening to me. Her attacks began to get closer and closer; I could feel burns forming against my skin as her onslaught wore on. I knew I wouldn't hold up long against this.

I didn't.

The blast didn't even hit me, only barely clipping my side, but I was thrown clear by it all the same. My body fell to the floor and I rolled for a few seconds before colliding against the library. I lay there for a moment. My body aching and my head blank as the world spun around me. I didn't even notice the light coming towards me until it was almost on top of me.

"Miss Taylor!" The screech caused Purity to spin around.

Koa stood in the doorway, staring at me and then at the neo-nazi light bulb above me. Then she screamed. It was a sound I heard never heard Koa make before. It was something evil, demonic, unholy. It was Koa's true nature come forth in a screech. I wanted to tell her to stop, to de-escalate, but I was too injured and the words couldn't make it out of my mouth.

Koa launched herself at Purity and took one of her beams head on.

Koa's mangled body hit the ground not far from me and I got to see the damage in brutal detail as she crawled to my side. I could only imagine it was the most feeble link keeping her bound to the mortal plane at this point. The front of her, where she had taken the hit, was almost entirely burnt, parts of it cracked and blackened. Portions, where wounds had been wrought too deep in her flesh, were bleeding profusely and one of her eyes was a gaping hole. Her right arm and leg had been torn out of their sockets, bones and ligaments broken by the force of the blow.

I had never seen such a quick and brutal end to a fight. Never been involved in a fight with such high stakes. I was completely out of my depth at what to do.

"I'm sorry, Miss Taylor."

"You idiot," I mouthed, not wanting to voice that thought aloud. I pushed myself up against the wall and kept myself up by leaning against it. I needed to keep my focus on the neo-nazi. Maybe I could pull a win out of this. Distract long enough to do a spell that relied on burst damage. Anything to stop her quickly.

Immediate action wasn't needed, someone was already blocking her path. The fairy had flown between both of us, while I was focused on Koa's suicide attack. The more concerning part was, she had actually managed to get the woman to stop. It was difficult to tell what Purity was thinking; the blinding light hid everything about her, I couldn't make out any tells.

"Please," she yelled, her arms and wings stretched wide to add to the illusion she could block an attack. "Please don't hurt them! They were trying to help save me, like heroes. I'm the one who should be in trouble, don't hurt them because of me."

It actually warmed my heart a bit, seeing the Freeloader risk her life to try and save me. But, she was under my protection. It would look bad if I didn't come to bail her out now when she most needed it. Especially after what she had done.

"Parley."

My voice was quiet but managed to cut through the tension like a hot knife.

"What did you say?" Purity asked me, her voice a bit incredulous and a touch angry if I wasn't mistaken.

"Parley. Come here, help Koa up." Purity looked ready to yell before she realized I was talking to the fairy and not her. I used the wall like a crutch ,leaning against it to keep me up. "You've won and I'm not interested in dying. Parley. Let us leave. I'll offer something, anything. A favor, whatever you want, Just let us go. You've won."

It was a smart person who knew when to withdraw when things got desperate and this seemed like a good time to do it. Koa didn't look good and the fairy looked horrified at what she had accidentally caused. Besides, it was fairly common in the magical world to do things like this. Favors exchanged after losing a battle and all that. It left the other side feeling like they'd won and more importantly left you alive.

Besides, no matter how awful this was, it was just as bad as sitting across from Yukari Yakumo. If I could handle that, I could handle this.

"If…could you manage to find a child. If I asked you to?"

I thought over that idea for a minute before asking the big question that came to mind.

"You want us to…steal a baby for you?" I asked.

"It's my baby!" She shouted indignantly.

"Oh…do you know where they took her?"

"If I knew that why would I be here?" Purity was very good at making derisive comments.

"It looks like we didn't even need to show up, you managed to get her to stop on...no actually good thing we did. She was going to kill you if you kept talking."

All of us turned to stare at the Undersiders, making their way over on Bitch's massive dogs. God, Tattletale was just going to be insufferable after this.

-Scene Change-

"I don't trust you." Purity said.

"Why come if we were going to lie to you?" Tattletale said, looking far too relaxed for how dangerous her opponent was. "Believe it or don't, it's the truth. The best chance you have at getting your daughter back."

Purity was getting angrier the longer Tattletale talked, and I really wanted to slap the girl for ribbing the lightning bug. Understandably, she didn't look like she trusted Tattletale as far as she could throw her.

"You said you owe me." Purity pointed at Koa and I, "go check for my daughter, I'll stay here and watch over the Undersiders until I have her back. If she's lying, then you're all dead."

The Undersiders stayed surprisingly calm at that threat.

"God, Yukari, Purity, I might as well owe the Undersiders at this point," I muttered to myself.

Skitter's head slowly spun to stare at me after I spoke that. Creepy.

I wasn't in any shape to go out attacking people to try and kidnap a daughter back but…I turned to look at Koa. "Koa, do you think you could manage to…?"

Koa gave a salute. Her broken hand flopped uselessly on her arm. It wasn't a pretty sight to look at. "Don't worry Miss Patchy. I am an adept at stealing children."

Everyday Koa found new ways to make me worried about her. She shoved her cracked arm and leg back into place. Her body healed at an inhuman rate and she'd used Tattletale's explanation to do away with most of the critical damage. In a burst of fire, she was gone.

Well…that was that then.

I floated unsteadily in the air and the entire group awkwardly looked around at each other. Purity was the only one who looked sure of herself and that was probably because she could kill us if she really wanted to. This was going to be a very long wait, no matter how quickly Koa got back. I sighed.

I landed on the stoop and put my head in my hands. Fuck today, I was taking a vacation next week, no matter what Contessa said.


	20. Chapter 19

Big thanks to Lithios and Lyova for beta-ing this chapter!

-Scene Change-

Another book joined the stack, unread and unwanted. It was a trend that had repeated itself for the majority of the day. I had never felt like this before, especially towards something that had become such a central part of my life for the past few months. I was listless, absent. An aura of malaise had fallen over me, long after my uninvited guests had gotten what they had come for and departed. It lingered like the smell of burning concrete; another thing I could thank Purity for. That scent had lingered and drenched everything with a toxic bouquet.

It was probably unhealthy and worsened my asthma, but what did it matter?

I didn't really care about how bad my library smelled. I couldn't work up the strength to bother dealing with it myself. I just suffered in silence. Lying in a languid state, barely even trying to get anything done. I had come to this world to accomplish something, but...ugh. How could I even describe what I was feeling? Apathetic, obviously, but it was more than that. It was an all-consuming haze that made everything around me seem far more trouble than it was worth. If I didn't know better, I would think someone had cursed me.

I had checked, no one had.

Bereft of any solution, I just shied away from any human interaction; the only one who had to see my disheveled state was Koa. I had seen her worried glances and heard her helpful suggestions to the point it was starting to annoy me.

I couldn't stand being cooped up in here any longer. I needed a vacation.

But that was silly. I couldn't just leave and go off on a vacation, I was just...I mean, I had to...well there was…

...Why _couldn't_ I go off on a vacation? I _had_ said I wanted to take one after all the idiots had arrived a few days ago. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe this would snap me out of my funk. A change of scenery was supposed to be good for people. Plus, I knew Koa would jump at the chance to go somewhere else.

I glanced over at the mountain of paperwork she was currently working her way through, quiet sobs audible even from where I was. It was punishment for what she had done a few days ago. Well, she may have a more selfish reason for wanting to leave with me, but I could accept that for now. Her chastisement had been going on for long enough that I could allow her just a little bit of freedom. Being so kind might give her the idea that I was letting up, but I didn't want to go on vacation all by myself. It would be awkward and I needed someone to fetch things for me.

"Koa?"

Koa turned her head, crocodile tears still trailing down her cheeks.

"Would you like to go out with me?"

The way that her eyes grew wide and lit up like a burning building, let me know I had said something wrong. Her depressed demeanor vanished in an instant and before I knew it, she was by my side, her hands wrapped tightly around mine. "Oh, Miss Taylor, I've been waiting my whole contract to hear those words leave your lips."

"Koa…let go of my hands."

She stared blankly into my eyes, confusion evident in hers. Time dragged on and she still hadn't let go. She was just staring dumbly at me, as if waiting for a "gotcha" moment. I chose to end it before this got any more awkward.

"Koa, let go. _Now_."

Her hands shot back like they had been burned. It made sense, they had. The day of fire allowed for a more practical approach to problems.

"I want to go somewhere else for a little bit to try and clear my head. I wanted to know if you'd like to go out with me?"

Koa's downcast expression cleared up after my explanation. "Oh? You're going to be leaving the library?"

"Don't act like that's something weird, I go outside all the time."

"Miss Taylor, when was the last time you left for something other than business?"

I almost fell into the trap of taking time to think about it, but that would have just proved her right. "That's beside the point."

"Mmhmm, of course it is, Miss Taylor."

Despite what I knew Koa had to be thinking, I didn't pout, I frowned. It only shared the barest similarities.

"So where were you planning on going?" Koa asked.

I shrugged listlessly, my steam running out the more the conversation dragged on. I really didn't feel like planning things out, it was why I wanted to go on this vacation in the first place. I just wanted to do something without having to _do_ something. I went to sit down in my armchair but noticed a fairy taking up my space, curled up like a cat. I levitated her over to sleep on some of my notes. "I don't know. The boardwalk, maybe downtown. I haven't really been around those areas since that incident with the trio."

"Miss Taylor, I think it's Brockton Bay that's got you down. If we're going on vacation, you need a bigger change of scenery than just going downtown or to the boardwalk."

"Well then what would you suggest?" I asked her.

She flung her arms wide and did a twirl. "Let's go somewhere tropical. Somewhere nice and sunny with tiki drinks and gorgeous humans in bikinis."

Despite my almost ingrained sense to say no to that suggestion for the sheer Koa-ness to it, especially with the wink she gave at the end, that didn't sound all that awful. With Dad's economic situation, and how busy things always were with the dockworkers, I couldn't remember the last time we had gone on a vacation. Especially one that wasn't somewhere close by. I'd only seen those sorts of places in books and movies.

"That actually sounds kind of fun Koa. I think that's something I'd love to do."

I saw an unholy light flicker into her eyes and it wasn't the one I was normally used to. I knew Koa too well to fall for what she was plotting.

"No bikini shopping."

-Scene Change-

Plans for my vacation hit a very early snag; it turned out Hawaii had been destroyed on Earth Bet a long time ago during an Endbringer attack. I mean, I could always head back to my Earth to visit the real Hawaii, but that was more effort than I was willing to expend and I didn't want to have to explain to dad what I was doing. After a quick google search about what countries had the best beaches, I settled on beautiful Jamaica for my vacation spot.

It was why I was currently roasting under the sun, regretting all of the choices that led me up to this point. I was reminded of the old adage that Heberts didn't tan, they burned. There was a reason my family had settled in New England. Plus, spending most of my time in a dark library really hadn't done wonders for my already pasty complexion.

This wasn't at all the idyllic vacation travel vouchers had told me it would be.

Luckily, I had brought plenty of books to help take my mind off of how uncomfortable I was. Which also hadn't worked out the way I wanted it to. It was difficult to not think about how the sand was getting into pages, how the humidity might be affecting their longevity. Well, with the wards I put on them, it wouldn't really...I was getting off topic. I was just finding things to gripe about. This wasn't really going perfectly for me, but it was a lot better than when I had been sitting in the library. Even if it wasn't anything really that important, I was enjoying going through new books I usually didn't have time for. After suffering through the variety of vagabonds that Brockton Bay had to offer, the sea and the sun were welcome companions.

My danger sense perked up. Not in the "under attack" way, but in the "someone is standing right beside you" way. Living with Koa, this sort of thing became second nature. I lowered my book just enough to see the fedora before raising it again.

"Go away. I'm enjoying my vacation, I don't want to deal with you."

"Awww, Miss Taylor, don't be so mean~"

I lowered my book all the way this time to see Koa wearing a ridiculously skimpy bikini, over-sized sunglasses and a fashionable fedora on top of her head. The hat was completely out of place with the aesthetic she had going for her. I should ask but…did I really want to know? No, no I did not. There was some "wacky" story behind this that I wanted no part of.

Noticing my attention, Koa gave me the finger guns and winked. I raised my book. She might have been pouting, but how would I know? I couldn't see her.

I felt her approach me and move behind me. I continued staring straight forward at the pages of my book. Maybe she would get the hint.

"Miss Taylor do you need any sunscreen? It is an awfully hot day." I felt her begin to lean forward, her voice getting quieter as she got closer to my ear, "I'm sure you'd feel a lot better with me...lathering you up."

I controlled my breathing spectacularly, to give the image that I hadn't heard nor cared about what she said. That was the key with Koa. Ignore her until she gave up.

"Oh, Miss Taylor. I'd love to squirt my white crea–"

" **Koa**."

I used my mom voice, tailored after...well, take a guess. Luckily for me, even demons had an ingrained dread of an angry mother. The voice was accentuated by me lowering my book just to give a glare at the puppy-dog eyes staring back at me. She cut herself off and made the motion for zipping her lips shut.

The book went up again and I tried to focus solely on that. It didn't work out well. With the thought planted firmly in my head, I started to become hyper aware of the sun's rays beating down on me. How I felt myself turning red as a lobster. How silly it would look with me flying around Brockton Bay with a sunburn. I would be _humiliated_ if someone managed to defeat me with a hearty slap on my bright red back. I felt Koa walk around a bit as I kept repeating to myself that I was fine, I shouldn't give her the ammunition.

Ugh, I knew I was going to regret this.

I lowered my book just enough to make sure that Koa's fedora was still there; I made the action look like I was just fidgeting. I levitated myself and did a one hundred eighty degrees turn onto my stomach, face still planted firmly in my book.

"Maybe you're right, I don't want to be burned. Just put some sunscreen on me. And don't try anything funny."

If she decided to go for something inappropriate, I was going to bury her up to her head and let the tide roll in. Still, I was shocked when she started to rub sunscreen on me without some crude joke to accompany it. Maybe my glare was more powerful than I had thought.

"Thank you. It's just been so long since I've been outside; I don't want to catch a sunburn."

"I wouldn't know, I've never had that problem. My skin is dark enough the need for sunscreen is nearly nonexistent."

That wasn't Koa's voice. I recognized that voice, but it was not Koa's. My teeth clenched and my head slowly tilted backwards to see Contessa slathering sunscreen onto my back. My succubus was nowhere to be seen. The awkward moment hung in the air; my brain needed a moment to reset. I could only think of one thing to say.

"Don't you have more important things to do than spend time plotting pranks on me?"

"Do you really think I'm the sort of person to play a practical joke?" Contessa asked with a deadpan delivery.

No, she really didn't seem like the type, but with her powers, I couldn't trust that she didn't have the ability to fake that. Perhaps this was all some convoluted plot of hers for a...no that was stupid. I turned away and pretended I was back to reading my book.

"I'm busy, go away."

Contessa continued wiping me down in sunscreen. "I didn't know the Maggie Holt trilogy was so important for your research."

I hoped that the soon-to-be sunburn would be able to hide how red my face turned at that comment. I quickly forced the book underneath my folding chair and flipped over to face the leaned back just enough to not be hit. I felt a bit self-conscious being alone with her but refused to show it. I stared back at her blank expression with an annoyed look of my own.

"You're sulking."

The change in topics threw me for a loop. "What? I'm not sulking."

"You aren't impervious. You aren't all powerful. There are things that are able to easily defeat you. Stop being so distressed about it. If you come at them arrogantly, you will lose and you will die. This was a wakeup call." Contessa stood unnaturally still as she tore into me.

The bluntness didn't endear her to me, so if this was her lead up to an argument on why I should head home and get back to work, it was going to fail horribly.

"Did you decide to just come by and insult me or did you have something important to say."

Contessa paused for a moment and turned her head away to gaze into the pristine sea, reflecting a shining sun.

"The next Endbringer attack will be happening within two weeks. Our best approximation is that they will attack in five days. I can't ensure your survival. At best, I will model how close you are to possible danger, but that is nowhere near perfect. You'll have to stay far away from the actual fight to ensure your protection, unless you have a better way to keep yourself safe."

Oh. That was why she was here. I couldn't believe she was coming all the way out here to try and _guilt me_ into performing a ritual on myself. I wasn't surprised she knew of my research into a way to become a full-blooded magician but it was something I was still largely on the fence about. It would be idiotic to jump into something life-changing like that without plenty of research first.

I wanted to tear into her for thinking she could dictate my life. I could feel all the anger threatening to burst out. But...no getting angry and charging into a fight wasn't a good idea. She had to have a reason for coming out here like this, and I really doubted Cauldron would be attempting to worsen our relationship. I knew she was manipulating me and she knew I knew. She would have been more secretive if she was trying to make me do things without me realizing it, or at least would have given a better argument.

So then why? Why advocate for something untested like that? It couldn't be to help others; I doubted even Myrddin had the power to become a real magician. What did Contessa want? Well, to kill the Endbringers and Scion obviously. It had been made clear that every thing she did was for that one goal. And with the warning of the fight coming up...so, she had determined that me becoming a full magician would be something to ensure my survival in the next Endbringer fight, or at least improve the odds enough that any risk was worth it. She was here as a warning; the odds weren't in my favor and every little bit could count towards me living that much longer.

Contessa just stood, looking towards the ocean, as I worked out everything in my head.

"I understand."

Her head turned and her eyes bore through me. "I know you do."

She didn't say goodbye, just walked away and turned out of sight before I could manage to come up with any reason to stop her. I sat in silence for a few minutes before opening my book again. The words didn't even register, my mind was abuzz with arguments and ideas.

What was I concerned that Purity had managed to beat me one time, I had far greater concerns than street level gang fights. I didn't have time to blunder around like this; we didn't know when the Endbringers were coming. I needed to prepare to set things up. Hell, for all I knew, the Endbringers could attack Brockton Bay next. I needed to make sure that if they tried, I would have some sort of countermeasure to stop them.

I slammed my book shut. Forget it. I wasn't even having fun out here. Vacations just weren't for me. My library was where I was needed and I had a ritual to prepare for. Koa came around the same corner that Contessa had left by, carrying two tiki drinks. "I'm happy to see you finished your book, Miss Taylor. Do you want to get into the water? Oh, but first you _have to_ try this."

"Koa, we're done at the beach. Pack everything up, we're heading back to the library." I said, breathing in and out slowly as I focused on the spell to create a portal. "Get changed into something more appropriate, I have a lot of work I'll need you to do."

I almost felt a little bad at the look of despair that came on her face.

-Scene Change-

I looked over the chalk circles that Koa was drawing and compared them to the diagrams laid out in the spellbook; her work was perfect as usual. I didn't spend too long double-checking everything she did; I needed to reread my part for what felt like the twelfth time to make sure I had everything down exactly right. Rituals weren't something to just run haphazardly into and that was essentially what I would be doing. Becoming a full magician technically fell somewhere under the label of Youkai and I was coming dangerously close to crossing the line into researching them.

But, I had found a loophole.

Now, while I was sworn not to research anything about Youkai, that didn't mean _Koa_ was under any such compulsions. I was sticking to the ritual alone; I knew the basics of what full magicians were and what I would be doing, but to all other things, I was ignorant. As long as I didn't start researching to deeply about them, I'd be fine. And if I came close to crossing that line, I'm sure an angry Kitsune would descend upon me.

Koa was the one who had gone into the down and dirty details on what the ritual entailed, and why things needed to be where they were. I simply stuck with what I would need to say and do; everything else was academic at best. Koa had been kind enough to pour through everything I could find about the topic and make sure I wasn't about to make some horrible mistake that I would regret for the rest of my life.

Still reckless, yes, but Contessa had been very adamant that there wasn't much time before the next Endbringer attack and I needed to make my move before it was too late to do anything.

Koa backed away from the diagrams and nodded. There was no sense in waiting; I was as prepared as I would need to be and was sure I could work myself up into getting cold feet if I kept overthinking it. My body hovered off the ground and landed smack dab in the middle of the interlocking circles and runes.

This was a complex diagram, made only more complicated by the variety of props that were necessitated. Reagents were required for something like this and I took only a second to ensure everything was where it needed to be. Every major space in the circles had some herb, idol, or trinket to represent the different aspects at play. Well, aside from two parts. At the head of the circle, a pig sat, asleep, next to a knife. Joining me in the middle was a bowl with some unidentifiable type of meat. Incense and candles burned on the outside, acting as a useful means to center myself.

I inhaled and exhaled, forcing myself to calm down, to focus. I may not meditate much but I did know the general principles for how to control my body. My spell book lay open in my lap; I let it rise in front of my face and began reading.

The first words flowed from my mouth and I could feel the power of the ritual begin to take hold. Chanting became not so much a conscious choice than a force flowing through me. I barely noticed as my body began to rise into the air and things set into motion around me. My attention was elsewhere and I couldn't have halted things if I had wanted to. The world fell away from me. It was an out of body experience that left me viewing something beyond just where I was. The magic of this world engulfed me like a womb.

The only moment that stood out to me was the squeal of an animal and the chalk outlines turning red as the candles burned with a greater passion. I was sweating, it came down in rivulets across my forehead and a wind began to flow through my library. Time and space blurred together. Still, the mantras unfolded out of my mouth, leaving with a force powerful enough to be felt physically.

How long had passed? I wasn't sure. Eventually, the chant just faded away and my hand reached out to gingerly grab the piece of meat waiting in front of me. Koa had been the one to get it and had seemed to indicate it would play the final part in this ritual. It entered my mouth and the taste hit me. It was...it was meat, I could tell that much, but I had never tasted this type before and I wasn't interested in thinking too hard about what it could be. I swallowed and everything around me faded to black. The candles were snuffed out, a glow filled the area, and for a second I felt _something_ happen, some sort of change.

My body lowered itself to the ground and I blinked a bit as I looked around. I was sweaty and tired but…

"That was it?"

Koa shrugged and walked over the circle to help me stand up. "What, did you expect a big explosion or something."

Yes, I had expected something like that. Some huge revelation, some obvious change to my demeanor and thought processes. Maybe even some kind of physical change to show that I had just undergone a _monumental_ development in the life of a magician.

"One would assume that after a major ritual, there'd be some earth-shaking end to it."

Someone knocked at the door. I could tell because the entire library shook with the force of impact, the reverberations tremored through the very ground we stood on. The only comparison I had was Alexandria's knock on my house door, oh so long ago. Either someone with super strength had come to pay me a visit or there was an attacking force firing trebuchets at my front door in hopes of breaching it.

I honestly couldn't decide which option was more likely.

Koa got a huge smile on her face before she started speaking, "Well Miss Taylor, it looks like you got your–"

"Don't," I said, my demeanor offering no alternative.

I was a sweaty mess and not in the mood for jokes.

"...so...do you want me to get that?"

"Yes, I want you to get that." I spoke out through grit teeth.

Koa meandered over and I watched as she went to unlatch the door. She managed to open it just the slightest inch before I got to see her go flying off into the distance as the door was smashed open.

The comical visage of Koa tumbling through the air was offset a bit by the realization I was under attack. It was Tuesday, the day of fire. The day of change and movement. They had made a grave mistake attempting to attack me today. I had plenty of options at my disposal for how to deal with an unknown threat. First, though, defense was priority; I allowed a funnel of flame to swirl around me. Something that would make any attacker think twice about charging in.

I was safe for now and allowed myself a moment to study my attacker through the haze of fire. Had Purity changed her mind on our agreement? Perhaps the empire had come in full force to get rid of me. There were other gangs in the city who could have come up with grievances against me. Perhaps in fear of an attack I could bring down on them.

At my door was a woman with bright red hair in a green Chinese dress and matching green hat, carrying two massive suitcases under each arm with a backpack strapped on, grinning sheepishly into the library's gloom. One arm was still outstretched where she had reached out to give a knock. I didn't recognize her, but that didn't mean she wasn't a part of something bad. There were plenty of people in the Nazi gang, there was no way for me to memorize all of them. Maybe she was even some unknown contingent of the Asian gang come for revenge.

"Whoops." She said.

"This is where I'm supposed to be staying? Hmph, I see why Yukari refused to let me review my accommodations before I arrived."

My gaze flicked to both sides of the main intruder for the second voice. It took a moment before I realized that I was looking too high. I lowered my gaze and then lowered again. A little girl with bat wings and a light pink dress and hat, hands planted firmly on her hips, was looking around my library. It was hard to notice her when she was topping out at three feet next to the giant who was her…mom?

"Meiling, place our bags in the guest room." The prepubescent girl turned to me with the look of a queen addressing her servants. "You _do_ have a guest room, don't you?"

I didn't know it was possible to distill that much disdain into a facial expression, especially for someone who didn't look a day over ten. The sheer absurdity of the situation I was currently in made me drop my fire wall and just stare. Was this a joke?

The realization came on suddenly. No…no it couldn't be.

" _You're_ the group Yukari sent?"

She gave out a conceited huff and turned her chin up at me, putting her hand on her chest. She played the regal angle very well. "Yes, I am the illustrious Remilia Scarlet. I was told you would be expecting us?"

I gave her the up and down again, only giving the barest glance towards her companion this time.

"But you're so _small_."

I could swear that I saw her whole body tighten up and a vein on her forehead suddenly bulge out, but it might have just been a trick of the light. Her royal demeanor fell away in an instant and her words came out clipped. "Are you implying that I'm short? Tiny? Insignificant?"

"Mistress, perhaps we should–" the redhead tried to interject but was stopped by one sharp look from her smaller companion.

It wasn't even that she was small; well, ok she was, but that wasn't the point. It was just the difference between the two people standing in my doorway made her shortness all the more apparent. I stood above most of my female classmates at five foot seven and Koa stood a bit above me, but this giant standing in the doorway had to be around six foot six. The little girl standing next to her just looked so silly trying to be the adult one out of the two.

She was so tall that I actually started staring at her again, ignoring the pint-sized monster who was her…mistress? That was a relationship for Koa to figure out, not me. I wasn't getting near that, with how young she looked.

"I'm speaking to you." Her anger was palpable as she spoke.

Right, she had said something, hadn't she? I needed to get out of my own head; it was rude to just ignore someone like that. Looking at things from a rational perspective would be the best way to defuse this situation.

"Yes, I called you short because you are short. It isn't an insult; you'd be standing up to my chest on your tiptoes. You should be used to being referred to as such by now."

Surprisingly, my attempts at calming her down didn't seem to work and, in fact, looked like it made the girl, Remilia, even madder. Then she took a sharp inhale and her royal demeanor fell over her like a drape.

"Hmph, why would I be bothered with how someone like you addresses me? Come Meiling, let's find our rooms."

It was painfully obvious she was pretending she didn't care. I had spent a lot of time the last few years trying to hide how mad I had been about things; her attempts at subterfuge were as plain as day.

I floated over, to stop the two of them from barging in. "Oh no, you aren't staying–"

I stopped when I realized that what I assumed to be a backpack that Meiling had on her back was actually a giant coffin, wrapped in all manner of religious symbols and sealing wards. The thing nearly glowed to my sight with magic and just screamed: ancient evil, do not open.

"What the hell is she carrying on her back?"

Remilia looked at me with disinterest. "How else would you expect me to travel with my sister?"

"You aren't bringing that into my library."

"I'm not going to leave my sister out in the street for any ruffian to unleash her on this world."

"Well, that won't be a problem because you aren't staying here at all. I've already booked you a hotel. You can stay there for however long it takes you to finish up whatever it is you're doing."

She sat down in one of my favorite chairs and I was conflicted on whether I should be angry at her for doing it or to laugh at how adult she tried to make that look."No hotel in _this city_ could ever hope to meet my standards and they would never allow me to bring that into a hotel."

I looked over the coffin again. "You'd be surprised. I'm sure they've seen weirder groups walk in the door."

"Well, why don't we discuss it over tea. I'm sure I could manage to change your mind about it."

Meiling put down her suitcases with a heavy thunk and very gingerly lowered the coffin down onto the floor. Oh no, they were not staying here. This discussion was over.

I loomed over Remilia. "There is absolutely no way you can manage to change my mind on whether you will be staying in my library. I am not exaggerating when I say there is exactly a _zero percent chance_ I will allow you to stay here. Nothing you could say would make me think differently on this subject."

-One Conversation Later-

"I hadn't even considered it like that."

Remilia didn't even bother to grin triumphantly, she sat sipping her tea in conceitedly at how well her argument had managed to win me over. I honestly couldn't think of any counter-point to raise against the facts she had laid out. It had been so well-structured and logical, a clear train of reasoning presented throughout her monologue. She sat there looking arrogant, knowing she had me right where she wanted.

"Fine, the library can handle a few more guests." I laid my head in my hands as I thought over her schemes. A group of supernatural beings disguised as a team of superheroes. We'd need an alibi like this if we wanted to keep that appearance up. It had such a great reasoning, plus it would only increase the number of people guarding my library. A good collaborative force to help with my research was the cherry on top.

"If you bring any trouble here, I'll jam a cross into your heart."

Did I mention she was a vampire? She hadn't exactly said anything but the fangs and vague hints she kept dropping into the conversation made that abundantly clear. Whatever, vampires were easy to deal with. I wasn't worried.

She didn't look fazed by my threat. "Oh, I'm sure I'll be just fine. I won't be causing any problems. The gap hag would rain hell down on me if I brought conflict."

I levitated out of my seat. This conversation was over. I was tired. "Good, Koa will show you to the guest rooms. I'm going to bed."

-Scene Change-

Well past midnight, the door to the master bedroom creaked open and a diminutive shadow flowed into the room. The sleeping magician didn't even twitch at the minute sounds that accompanied it. The shadow had been through thousands of variations on this little game, she knew just what to do so her prey would not be alerted. She crept along the carpet, her target lost in a deep sleep and unable to fight back against her.

Perfect.

Fangs gleamed in the light from the moon as she sauntered up to the bed. It was always good to show your strength when someone attempted to control you, when they insulted you. Establishing dominance early on in a relationship was important; as well, the scent of blood was just too tempting to resist. It would be a learning experience for the young magician to not let Youkai into her home and leave them unsupervised.

She leaned over the bed and moved the girl's long brown hair out of the way. The neck exposed itself and she leaned down for a taste.

"What are you doing here?"

The hushed accusation made the shadow pause. Remilia looked over to the window, where Koa was halfway finished crawling through. She stood up straight and glared as she whispered back, "What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?"

"I wanted to cuddle with Miss Taylor while she was asleep like I do every night! Were you trying to suck her blood?"

"I'm a vampire, what did you expect me to do? I haven't had the chance to taste a magician in at least three decades."

"Well, find a different one. Miss Taylor is mine and I won't let you have her."

Remilia smirked and let her bat-wings unfold, her eyes beginning to glow a dark red. "I would love to see you try and stop me."

Koa, finally finished working her way through, let her own set of wings spread wide and allowed her nails to begin sprouting into claws. "Oh, I would love to."

The cascade of water that erupted from everywhere sent both combatants flailing to the floor, screaming. It moved around with a mind of its own, until both Youkai were contained within it, only their heads sticking out.

"Evil creatures, such as vampires and demons, are weak to running water," Taylor said as she pushed herself up from her bed, "the purifying effects have adverse reactions to their physiologies."

She stared at their reddening skin and trembling bodies as the water washed over the two intruders, weakening their powers. "I'm sure you're aware of that though."

She didn't move from the bed but surveyed her two captives as they writhed in their prisons, the magic tearing at their very beings. Her spell held the water together, keeping it solid enough to contain them but allowing for constant motion. Taylor focused on the diminutive vampire first. The girl was showing a childlike behavior that fit her appearance, now that she found herself powerless.

"This won't be happening again. Will it?"

Remilia mumbled something impossible to make out. Taylor pulled her arm back and the mass of water flowed over with the vampire in tow. The girl squeaked as she was moved.

"What was that?"

"N-no. I won't do this again."

"Good."

The water flung her towards the door and Remilia was gone before the angered magician could change her mind. Taylor turned towards Koa.

"You break into my room to cuddle with me every night?"

This time the redhead was pulled forward to kneel in front of Taylor. The water encircled the succubus like a tomb, trapping her in space. It began to tighten itself, constricting her motions further and further until she couldn't move in the slightest.

"M-miss Taylor, please. I wasn't doing anything bad. I promise. C-can't you be lenient?"

Taylor turned her head upwards in thought.

"Denied."


	21. Chapter 20

I'd like to thank Lyova and FrustratedFreebota for betaing this chapter

-Scene Change-

Two days later, we got the call. Report to the nearest PRT building immediately. Leviathan was coming.

Well, Koa got the call, I was asleep. I _should_ have been awake; it was nine o'clock in the morning. I had only managed to sleep for three hours, if that. The day after I had become a full magician had been a very long one, full of the most difficult kind of work that had dragged on deep into the night.

The medallion that now rested heavy around my neck was proof of time well spent.

"Miss Taylor, wake up. There's an Endbringer attack."

Her hands felt cool on my face, which wasn't a good sign. I hadn't gotten much sleep after Remilia and Koa had invaded my room yesterday and I had only barely closed my eyes last night before being woken up again. If you included all the stress I'd been under, it was only logical that my immune system would take a hit. And with the amount of spells I'd cast yesterday as well as a few...possibly poisonous reagents wearing my already frail body down, it had finally happened.

I was sick. I was really sick. I was really, _really_ sick.

My bed was soaked with sweat and my body felt unbearably warm. Even in the groggy awareness directly post-sleep, I could tell I wasn't doing well. With shaky arms, I tried to push myself up, only to break out in a coughing fit and collapse back onto the bed. I curled up into a ball and whimpered into my pillow as I felt Koa massage my back. She was still in deep shit, but I was too sick to deny this small luxury to myself.

Why did it have to be today? I hadn't been feeling well yesterday, but I had been well enough to push through it. Right now, I could already feel my body fighting my every moment. I attempted to flip myself onto my side and crawl out of bed. My stomach decided to make its displeasure known at that moment. Koa must have seen it on my face; she had the bowl ready for me before I began throwing up.

"Miss Taylor…maybe you should sit this one out."

It took a moment for her words to sink in; I was occupied with something much more attention-grabbing. I didn't even have to think it over to know my answer. I couldn't. This was far more important than just me. Waiting another three or four months, floundering with my research, trying to figure out a way to destroy creatures that I knew almost nothing about...that would never work. It was tempting, oh so tempting, but I could never allow myself to do that.

I groaned out my disagreement and Koa lowered the bowl to the side of my bed. This time I _forced_ my noodle arms to support my weight and crawled out from under my blankets. I couldn't tell if I was feeling chills or was way too hot. Koa lifted a cup of water to my lips and I sipped gingerly at it.

"I can't. I have to go."

I was afraid to talk too much. I didn't want to throw up again.

Koa didn't reply. She put a gentle hand on my forehead and helped guide me back down to my mattress. I wouldn't have been able to fight her off, but I didn't try to either. While I _needed_ to go out and be there, my body and will didn't seem to agree. It was just so much better to lay down. To be taken care of. I could already feel myself start to drift, the pain of sickness easing _just enough_ under her gentle hands.

"Stay in bed, I'll get you something to help calm your stomach. The world isn't going to end while you wait for the next fight."

"Contessa...Cauldron." I mumbled, everything in me fighting even the most basic attempts at exerting myself.

"They don't matter Miss Taylor. All that matters is you getting better."

I turned onto my side to watch Koa move away and stared into a featureless white hallway where the rest of my room should be.

"I would have to disagree."

I wasn't surprised that Contessa was here to make sure I showed up on time.

Koa wheeled around with an angry expression on her face, one hand on a hip, the other pointing at the well-dressed woman. "You are _not_ taking Miss Taylor out like this. She is sick and needs her rest. If you try to make her go out now, then you will regret it."

I could feel the tension building and I didn't like it. Not only because I was too tired to affect anything to any meaningful degree, but because they were about to face off _in my bedroom_. I didn't want them accidentally breaking anything. Or injuring me. Or making me move.

"Panacea will be able to heal her."

Oh. Right. Panacea. I had nearly forgotten. She hadn't responded to any my messages over PHO and trust me, I had sent a lot. Eventually, I had put a notice on my calendar to go talk to her in person, but I had sort of just pushed that off for a while. Time had worn on, I'd gotten busier and now we were here.

"Well bring her in, Miss Taylor is too ill to go anywhere."

"I won't jeopardize the secrecy of Cauldron to make things easier on you. Panacea will be waiting at the Brockton Bay PRT building for another twenty minutes. If you leave now, you'll arrive in time to get healed. We will open a door nearby. You can move her the rest of the way on your own."

I really didn't like how the two of them were talking like I wasn't here.

"And how do you expect me to move Miss Taylor there? She can't walk like this."

Contessa pushed forwards a wheelchair from where it was sitting off to one side.

-Scene Change-

"Please hold on Miss Taylor, we're almost there," Koa whispered as softly as one could manage, while sprinting through a rain storm.

I had a book sitting on my lap and a bowl on top of that, half-filled with a combination of vomit and the drizzling rain from overhead . Fortunately, the ratio was skewed heavily on rain's side, but that didn't mean my stomach was feeling any better. The change to being a true magician had made the need for food irrelevant, which in turn meant the ride was filled with plenty of dry heaving instead of full-on vomiting. I guess at this point, even if I had been eating regularly it would have all left me. The rain at least made it easier to deal with how unnaturally warm I felt. I would get the chills soon, but for now, it helped alleviate the pain just a bit. I wasn't thinking far ahead enough to worry about what came next.

The sight of the PRT building was a welcome relief. Every jolt, every bump, every single thing about this ride was unbearable. And Brockton Bay's streets were not well maintained. Even the few blocks Contessa had dropped us from the building made for an unimaginably long journey. I was glad it was raining to hide the tears that were flowing from my eyes.

It was irrational and pointless, but I couldn't stop myself from crying over the sheer irritation of the situation I was in. I felt so helpless and I couldn't do anything about it.

Koa's brisk jog slowed down to a walk as we approached the front of the building. They had an intimidating welcoming party of beefed up agents waiting for us. Well, intimidating if you discounted the one superhero in their midst. I guess they needed a show of force; with unstoppable monsters killing millions throughout this world, they needed to look like they were doing something to fight it. But the bright red spandex didn't compliment the other's uniforms. Maybe if I had recognized the superhero, but without that knowledge he just looked goofy.

"Hello, the Protectorate is happy to…" The official speech it sounded like he was about to give us trailed off as he got a good look at my sorry state. "Holy crap, what happened to her?"

"Miss Patchy is very sick, could we please get a healer to assist her?"

He took one more look at me, opened the door behind him and let out a loud yell.

"Medic!" His voice rang out through the room, cutting the chatter like a hot knife.

Everyone turned to stare at us as Koa pushed me past the threshold and wheeled me into a throng of people. The group parted like the red sea, either kind enough to make room for an ill woman, or, more likely, worried that I might have something contagious.

I didn't have much of a chance to survey the room beyond that. It was hot and humid, in part the summer climate and part the sheer number of people stuck inside. Whatever the cause, it set me into a vicious coughing fit. I covered my face with my hands, but it made all my other issues flare up worse than before.

"Assault said you needed healing?"

I looked up at someone peering down at me. A cloak covered her head, partly hiding her freckles and curly brown hair. I couldn't make her face out too well through my watery eyes, but it wasn't the look of compassion I would expect from a healer finding someone in distress. It was more general disinterest than anything else. Then a look of disgust came across her face and she started glaring at me.

"Oh. It's you."

I'd also nearly forgotten Panacea had some sort of grudge against me. Jeez, how was I supposed to know there was a bank robbery going on there? Some people just couldn't get over the smallest things. I mean, a few weeks had passed by this point and she hadn't even been hurt.

Well, I was getting healed now whether she wanted to do it or not.

She pushed past all small talk and gave me a glare as she reached for my hands. "Do I have permission to heal you?"

"Yes." My voice sounded quiet and grumbly, even to my ears; I was surprised she was able to hear it.

Perhaps she hadn't and just wanted to get this over. I didn't care; if she could let me turn my head without throwing up, I could deal with her anger. She grabbed my hand and her eyes widened, then narrowed. She leaned in and whispered a sharp, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I didn't want to risk opening my mouth again, so Koa eloquently took over for me. "Huh?"

"I know you aren't a parahuman, you don't have a corona pollentia. Do you really think now is the time to try and get free medical treatment? Using an Endbringer attack as a way to get me to heal you?"

"I-I…"

"Is there a problem?"

I felt proud that I recognized it was Armsmaster who towered over the two of us; for me, it was because I was sitting, Panacea was just that short.

I could see the look go across her face, thinking about whether she wanted to rat me out or not. This was so stupid. If we got into some whole argument with the local Protectorate because I didn't have a corona whatever, I was going to be pissed. It would be so easy to show I had powers if it had been just a little bit better. Her face was still close enough to mine that I could get some words off without Armsmaster hearing me.

"Weird powers," I whispered to her. "Messed me up…"

She gave a harsh exhale in my face, but she still turned to Armsmaster and said, "No, nothing's wrong."

It looked like Armsmaster was about to say something, but Koa cut in. "It's _so nice_ to see you. We never got to finish our conversation from last time."

She accentuated this comment with a healthy batting of her eyelashes. I don't think I had ever seen someone speed walk away as fast as that.

Panacea leaned in close to me and whispered, "You're lucky I'm a hero," into my ear.

Yeah, whatever. Get over your grudge girl. She grabbed my hand again and started listing off what was wrong with me as she took care of it.

"Weakened immune system gave you the flu. Asthma and anemia making your conditions worse. Poor sleep pattern and anxiety have caused undue stress on your body. Muscles atrophied from lack of use? Mercury and arsenic poisoning?"

Her face scrunched up and she peered at me. Yes, I hadn't been walking as often as I used to, but I hadn't been avoiding exercise _that_ much. And yes, I _had_ needed select amounts of both chemicals for a few rituals and spells I had done in the intervening weeks, but that didn't mean anything. It couldn't have been that harmful to me. It didn't seem like I ever used that much but I guess even a small amount can show up in the body. I just moaned pitifully, to try and get her to move past that.

If it worked, she didn't say much to that effect. Slowly I felt my second wind returning to me. My breathing became easier, my body ached less and my queasy stomach began to straighten itself out. I could feel every nagging little pain and sore fade away until all that was left was me.

Perfectly healthy.

I let go of Panacea's hand and levitated out of my wheelchair, barely even a thought required to do it. I had never felt so powerful before. Always my spells had been limited by how much my body could take before my illness stopped me. Either my asthma made it hard to speak, or my body would start hurting, or any number of things to get me to stop. Right now, I was healthy. Healthier than I think I had ever been, even before the locker.

Though I notice she hadn't fixed my bad eyesight. Bitch held a grudge like nobody's business.

It didn't matter. I could cause some serious damage like this. Every spell I had ever come across but dismissed as unfeasible ran through my head. So many choices. So many possibilities. A grin stretched my mouth as far as it would go.

Panacea just sulked away. I didn't care. I was done with her. She could go back to glaring at the floor or whatever.

I let power flow through me. It was the day of Earth. The day of foundation and immobility. The element opposed to water. This couldn't have been a better day to fight Leviathan. I turned to survey the group around me. I was surprised that no one was really paying attention to me. I guess once I was healed I was just another super powered person to them. I recognized a few people here and there, the heroes and villains that I had met in passing. Tattletale stood out, even alone. Perhaps because I couldn't see the other major annoyance of my last few weeks hanging around here.

There was a burst of displaced air and suddenly there was a new person in our midst.

"Strider here, everyone gather round," was shouted over the din.

Everyone moved as one, a mass of capes heading off to a possible death. You could taste the fear in the air, everyone was apprehensive, frightened, even if they didn't show it. The very real chance of being killed in the next few hours was an unspoken dread that hung over everything.

All I was excited about was the fight to come. How I would be able to use my newfound powers to their fullest.

"Next stop, Florida."

And with another burst, we were gone.

-Scene Change-

Brockton Bay was humid; Florida was worse than I could have ever imagined. Even with the rain, I felt like I was breathing more water than air. This storm made Brockton Bay's drizzle look pitiful in comparison. Brockton had just been the average summer rainstorm, this was an actual gale of wind and water. Heroes and villains scattered to get under any sort of cover as quickly as they could. I followed them just because I couldn't push back, everyone was lost in the mass as more and more people came streaming in. Small bursts of new arrivals and departures as those with the ability were sent out to gather more groups as quickly as possible. Giant ships landed, carrying streams of people. It was a gathering of hundreds. All of them come to risk their lives to keep this city from being lost like others before it.

I didn't like the claustrophobic feeling of it, so I left. Walked out. I knew there would be speeches, planning, maybe even things given out to help.

And you know what, I didn't care. My blood was pumping, readying myself for the fight to come. Everyone else was probably preparing for some massive siege or whatever they thought would be best. That wasn't for me. I'd hold back and watch. Gage Leviathan. Figure out how it worked and how I could best hurt it.

No one stopped me, so I assumed it was fine.

I rose from the ground and floated over the city streets to see the ocean, not so beautiful under the cloud cover.

It was coming. I could feel it.

The waves moved with an unnatural rhythm. Even on the day of the earth, I could feel the water's normal flow disrupted by a foreign entity. Something so alien, so massive, so powerful; it was difficult to comprehend just what I was seeing it do.

I should be scared right now. I had never been in a fight on this scale. Never against something like this. But I was more ready than I had ever been. With only the sound of rain and my blood pumping in my ears, I had nothing to distract my mind as it thought over what I was going to do. I idly fingered my new medallion as I thought it over.

What _was_ I going to do?

Normal spells were completely out of the question. People had been throwing normal attacks against these things for decades. They weren't hurting it any more than I would be. I was here because I wasn't normal, not to this world. They didn't have magic, they didn't have demons, they didn't have Youkai, Vampires or Fairies. They had superheroes and superpowers, and three evil monsters that had been dragged along for the ride.

I might be inexperienced, but I had plenty of knowledge on things that were outside the norms of this world. Outside the norms of this universe.

I not so subtly glanced at Koa as I thought that to myself.

If anyone would be able to figure out what these things were and the best way to destroy them, then it would be me. I had been studying the most esoteric branches of magic that I could find for these past few months. It was time to put my work to the test. I was sure I'd find something that would cross the alien-magic boundary. Something to actually damage whatever had made these things appear. Destroy a part of them that they couldn't regenerate.

I could feel the earth ready to move around me. It was different than Brockton; more manageable, more eager. This was an environment more used to change than the solid foundations of New England. Good, it would make this fight a little easier for me. I wouldn't have the time to set up bigger spells, things would have to be done on the fly. Any asset I could find, I was happy to take. I could already picture the ways I would use the land. Encaging, summonings, focal points for larger spells; though not as stable as what I was used to, I'm sure it'd make up for it in practicality.

If Leviathan came charging after me, I had a few ways to deal with it than just flinging mud around.

The rain changed, with all the subtlety of a hammer. The downpour's intensity increased exponentially. The water was so heavy, it was difficult to see what was in front of you.

It was here.

I ran my hand over the medallion, the reason I had woken up so sick today and also why Panacea had been so taken aback by the metal poisoning. You just couldn't skimp on reagents like that if you wanted a spell to go right. It was an untested defense I had meant to create much earlier and I was glad I had managed to get it finished up late last night now that Leviathan was here. Koa wouldn't be able to do much with so much water around, it would wear away at her powers. She would be a momentary distraction at best. Contessa wouldn't be able to help me until after I had already been hit. If I survived that, they would at least make sure I lived to the next day.

I was on my own right now. I would need every asset I had.

The gathering of capes moved as one. Like a group of ants after you kicked over their hill, dots running every which way. Flying too, but I guess the ant analogy fell apart there. The water rose and Leviathan burst out of it. Yells, screams, thuds and explosions, a symphony of sounds. It all boiled down to white noise as I focused.

I opened a book. _The book_. It's pages documented everything I had ever considered useful for fighting an Endbringer. Everything I could possibly try out here. This and the necklace were the only things Koa had deemed worth grabbing before we had to go. They were all that I needed.

This was...this was it. This was the fight I had been preparing for. This was why I was here.

I looked down as Leviathan carved destruction through the ranks of the defending force. I aimed a hand and started muttering to myself. A magic MRI was the only way I could describe the spell I was chanting. I wouldn't jump in now, the time wasn't right. Too many people could get hurt. Too many things happening at once. But the fight would wear on, people would die and get injured and leave as they were unable to do anything. For now, I would evaluate.

I floated above everyone as they threw themselves at Leviathan. High enough up that I could set aside the realities of what was happening below. They were a necessary sacrifice. I had work to do.


	22. Chapter 21

Everything smelled like the ocean. Like seawater and falling rain. Half-forgotten memories of childhood on the beach with my mom and dad. It was a wistful smell, nostalgic even.

I hated it.

I wanted the whole city to stink of something awful; death decay, bodies, and blood. I felt so isolated from everything that was happening. I wanted every breath I took to help make what was happening underneath me seem more visceral, more real.

So far away, it was hard to invest in the fighting below. It was like watching a movie. I was observing a slaughter with little input or impact on my part. Even the bloody details sort of blurred away at this range. Partly due to my glasses, partly due to the distance and partly due to the rain. I guess being away from it helped make it easier. I didn't feel bad about what I was doing...I didn't feel much really.

And I shouldn't feel bad. I was doing what I needed to. This was just how these attacks worked. People died, it was a fact of life here. If I could manage to do anything, find anything that could stop the Endbringers, this would never have to happen again. I _could_ be helping down there, but it was better I was safe until I knew what I was doing.

I had to ignore it. It was for the best.

My progress so far had not been good. All of the data had come out garbled and, at sections, impossible to decode. I'd manage to finetune the spell a bit as time went on, but an Endbringer was just outside most reference points these detection spells were based off. I had sort of gotten a sense of _something_ about it, which I was piecing together as best I could, but it was slow and confusing work.

I did manage to get some important information out of it to keep in mind for others. Leviathan wasn't really entirely here; its essence was spread out between a few different places. It wasn't thinking, but it was processing. Receiving commands and interpreting from there. It was fully conscious, in a sense of consciousness, but more like a thinking AI operating off commands it was given.

Commands it was given...now that was something I'd think about _much_ later. Not entirely relevant right now though. I could discuss the implications of _that_ when I had the time. I needed to use what I had learned, not worry about what they could mean. Spread out across universes? A central spot in the middle of his chest?

Not exactly what I had been hoping to find out, but an easy weak point was probably out of the question. It looks like I was going to Plan B.

I looked down on the fight that had continued nonstop since I had first started my analysis. I wondered how the people felt down there. If they could get a real grasp on exactly how much damage had been done, even in the handful of minutes that had gone by since the start of the fight. I had always wanted to go to Miami, but right now the city was an utter disaster. The ocean had come forth and washed away nearly everything that I could make out. City blocks had crumbled in the assaults that had gone on against the Endbringer.

It was awe-inspiring to see how much could be destroyed, just thrown away by one attack.

The battlefield had shifted, always moving, always adapting. There had been a momentary retreat for some reason and now someone faced Leviathan alone. I lowered myself down slowly, Koa taking a silent vigil to my right. I had gotten everything that I could. They wouldn't be able to hold the beast off for long. I'd strike when the lone fighter fell. Get some experimental data and then retreat.

I could feel through our connection that Koa was holding herself back from speaking. I guess watching me cast detection spell after detection spell got old after a while. Still, she knew better than to interrupt me during something important. She didn't want to throw me off my game.

But right now, some stupid joke might help alleviate the tension.

"What is it?"

I didn't turn to address her. The moment held too much gravitas for something so human. She stayed quiet as we descended closer and closer, the fight between the cape and Leviathan our target. Right before we had nearly reached the rooftops, she grabbed my arm as I moved to fly away.

"Stay safe, Miss Taylor."

"I…" I wasn't good at close moments like this so I floundered my words before blushing and responding, "Thanks...you too."

The silence after that felt awkward so I turned away. I felt Koa fly in the other direction to tell others about what I was going to try. I left for my target as well. As I neared the fight, the street opened up, knocked over buildings widening the walkway. Crumpled lumps dotted the water like buoys. Bodies. The first one I saw was the splattered remains of a girl. Sixteen maybe. She hadn't even reached the cusp of adulthood. She was laid on the ground, her arms spread wide. Beautiful, aside from the stain on her white costume where her guts had burst outward. She lay in the water almost like...like an angel. Her blond hair splayed across her face. I took a deep breath, disgusted by the sight of her.

Everything smelled like the ocean.

I looked up. It was staring at me. Leviathan. The broken body of a cape below him. Its head moved, all four eyes visible in the dark of the storm. Its attention focusing on the newest threat it had to face.

Me.

I could feel the tension in the air. A moment of stillness, so weak, it could be broken with the slightest tremor. My book hovered before my face and flipped to page 246. I hadn't planned this fight down to every last detail but I knew what I wanted to do. I was going to take away every advantage this thing had and give myself every opportunity to find an attack that would tear at its very core. I was going to hold this thing down while I found a blade capable of dissecting it. And then I was going to pull it out its still beating heart and eat it.

Figuratively of course.

We were frozen in time, staring at each other. His asymmetrical eyes gazing up at me. Emotion a foreign concept to its face. It was otherworldly. Disjointed. This creature just wasn't right. I could tell it wasn't really looking at me, it couldn't be. Did it even need to see? Was this just an act? A semblance of humanity in something that was far removed. And why? Why bother?

It didn't matter. If it wasn't going to make the first move, then I would.

With a wave of my hand and several passages from the page, a pillar of stone burst out of the ground, at least 40 yards high and as wide as a redwood. Big enough to be seen, but not tall enough to be unstable, even when hit. It descended further down, a strong base to keep it rooted. It wasn't a pillar, but a totem, not that anyone would be able to tell the difference.

I could see the magic take hold as soon as the shapes on my totem finished forming. The water began moving, but this time under my control, receding into the earth. A spell to help clear the battlefield a bit, and perhaps trap a spirit formed of water inside of it.

Leviathan effortlessly cleared the spell circle with a single leap...I guess this thing was too far removed from a water elemental. Well...that was good to know. The pillar would serve its duty later than.

It was charging at me, eerily silent for something that big. I had to focus. My book was already flipping through to a new spell.

Page 43 opened itself as I gave a swift retreat. Everything came so easily, the spell didn't even require words The land was more than eager to leap at my command. My whole body tingled with excitement as the spell gained form. I had the earth sprout hands, grabbing at the Endbringer as it chased me. The beast's tackle was redirected and I watched as it spun left and fell under the barrage of grabbing fingers and muddy tethers. The ground itself rose up to try and grab onto his form before it could manage to regain its bearings.

I needed to kill time. My column was gathering power and would need a few more moments to be ready.

My spellbook flipped to page 472. I could see it in my head. The earth was calling for me. The souls of the dead suffused the air. The barrier between worlds, the fabric holding things apart was weakening under my gaze. I clapped my hands together and forced the mud to rise and shape as it gathered around Leviathan's form. The undead found a welcome purchase in these soulless shells.

The tide of spirits burst from their containment, thrashing, striking, a million different actions but each soul let out a piercing scream as they set upon the Endbringer's body. Leviathan was besieged by them. No matter how he thrashed and clawed, disintegrating my defenders into a fine brown mist, there were plenty more ready to take their place; a stream of the freshly dead eager to take one last chance at life. Well...I assumed eager. Why else would they come?

I hadn't stopped fleeing for a single moment. Any space between me and the Endbringer was more than welcome. Besides, their screams were disconcerting and I needed to stay focused for my next spell. Despite their numbers, I knew that they wouldn't be able to hold Leviathan for long. The spell only had so much power to it and I was watching them be obliterated as fast as they rose from the muck. I wasn't interested in wasting time on that. He was fast and strong, more than enough to get at me if the attacks grew annoying. And I...I didn't know if I would survive a single hit from him.

Well, let's see if we couldn't find something that would hold him back then. Page 168. A spell of my own working. Something that would hopefully cover all of my bases. The final words left my lips as soon as I saw his body began its pacing run towards my position. It felt good, incredibly good, as the raw mana was forced through me.

"Five Elements Sign: Philosopher's Stone."

I was already flying back as the pentagrams formed. Leviathan was moving chaotically, diving and lunging all over the floor, making it difficult to tell which way he was headed. He was as nimble as a ballerina; his feet didn't splash on the water, he glided over it. It made the prospect of aiming for him complete hell.

Luckily, I wasn't aiming.

The pentagrams began spewing orbs that overran the battlefield. There was no possible way something that big could manage to dodge a barrage like this. And it didn't try. It smashed headlong through the attacks, its odd movement pattern never changing. I swerved hard to the left and saw him swing his arms forward to where I had been. Then he rushed away from me and paused. It's head swirled around and he charged me again.

It seemed my talisman was doing its job.

My spell continued pounding into him, but it didn't seem to be impeding him any. An attack that should have sent any monster shaking to their core didn't seem like it was doing any more than just the average physical strike. Did this thing really not have _any_ kind of weakness?

I made a run back for the column, Leviathan's erratic chase following me all the while. The powerful spells weren't wearing me down; if anything I felt far more alert, more awake. My book was flipping through pages and I couldn't find anything. Spell after spell fell to the wayside. Too much time. Not strong enough. I needed more. I needed something to pull him in. The totem didn't need much to get it started. That summoning would allow me to really work this monster over.

I wasn't fast enough.

His water echo. I had forgotten about his echo. The wave smashed into me first. Sent me flying.

And then I was on the ground, slamming and skidding as gravity took hold. Ironically the totem was what stopped my roll. Everything was spinning and everywhere was hurting. I had to remind myself that was good. If I was feeling pain that meant I was still alive. Since everywhere hurt, it meant I hadn't lost anything. I used the column as support to get myself off the ground, levitation to help me stay straight.

All the capes were already rushing in. Had they been gathered on the sides during that fight? Had they been watching me the whole time? I was sure that I had been alone during all of that. Now that I was down they were going back to fighting like normal.

Hadn't they listened to Koa? I didn't need them. I was going to be doing this on my own. I wasn't done yet. I couldn't look _that_ bad, I was moving just fine. Maybe a bit worse now that there was no water to cushion my fall, but that was a good thing. My column had sucked away at the detritus and destruction caused by this fight, it almost was ready. I turned my attention back to Leviathan just as moved to pounce on me like a cat.

The spell came without thinking. It was a minor banishment, something that I had done more than once when Koa got too annoying. Just not so minor. I poured every ounce of power available at the moment into that banishment and it was a _lot_. I feared for my life, I was more than willing to risk any backlash from the force of the spell.

I felt my body burn with an ephemeral pain, but I didn't care. I was entranced as I saw the spell hit Leviathan and send him crashing into a building. Flipping and flopping, his body out of sync with the rest of this universe. Fading in and out before solidifying again. It hadn't looked like it had done any damage but...

I stared. It couldn't be that easy. There was no possible way it was that easy.

But it would be, wouldn't it? My breathing was getting heavy, I was shaking, twitching. Every single sign and I had missed it. The properties hadn't been _exactly_ like a demon but, it did bear some characteristics. Not fully here yet acting through some agent it possessed as a false body. Connected through some link. Yes. Yes, it _would_ be exactly like that.

I had found my weakness.

The capes were rushing in, especially since I had sent the Endbringer tumbling. Their assault began anew. My column acted as a rallying point for them. Alexandria, one of the only faces I recognized in the mass, paused long enough to give me a nod before plowing straight into the Endbringer. I moved back.

I had spells to work through.

The pages were moving so fast that I could barely read one title before it was on to the next. I had been hoping to discover some sort of elemental weakness and work off of that. Find a spell that would work off my understanding of the monster's water powers to find a hook into him.

That was obviously not what was going to happen here.

I didn't have enough spells that involved demons. Not nearly enough. Banishments weren't my forte and wouldn't do anything, but send him running until the next Endbringer attack if he didn't manage to kill me first. I didn't even know if I had a banishment powerful enough to send the thing away to where it had come from. I needed something that would strike a demon at their core, but that was more of a priest's job than mine.

Well, I would have to be imaginative then.

They were leading Leviathan away. Good and bad. It left me safe but now he had regained the upper hand. Back on track from whatever I had done to him. Now that I was sitting out, he was more than happy to bat away at the defenders, play with them. Kill them.

I felt the column's charge finish and got to work. I began shaping it, the now muddy column melted, growing expanding, rounding out and forming into a vaguely human shape. I recited the words, pulling hard at both the physical world and the weakened fabric that was separating the boundaries of the living and the dead. Something I was partially to blame for I guess. I could feel the magic tear away at what kept things as they should be, as I forcibly pulled a soul into this world, into this body.

It's one gigantic eye glowed with life as it blinked and its arms took some tentative swings.

"Polyphemus, son of Poseidon, I call upon you." It was difficult to keep my voice steady, I felt like a live wire.

He scanned the battlefield around him as I floated up to his eye-level. His pupil swiveled around to stare at me. His throat rumbled as he chewed over his next words. "What do you want?"

As eloquent as one could expect from a cyclops. "Oh great and powerful Polyphemus, we are beset by a monster from the deepest ocean. An abomination unbefitting of your father's domain. For your fill of human flesh, would you assist us with banishing him back to its depths? I require only your brawn, nothing more."

A promise I did not plan on keeping, but I would say anything to get him moving. I doubted he would be able to fight off Leviathan, but I needed his cooperation to at least delay him. I needed someone who wouldn't be missed if he got in the way.

His expression was humored. "And why should I bow to your whims? What would stop me from feasting on your flesh now?"

I did not have time for petty games. "You live at my command. Unless the endless halls of Tartarus are more your pleasure?"

We came to an understanding on that matter quite quickly.

I sent him chasing the battle; his lumbering walk turned into a run under my direction. I knew when he was close, as the gasps and shouts from capes could be heard even over the sounds of fighting. My book slammed closed. I wouldn't need it.

I came flying over the rooftops to see Polyphemus grappling against Leviathan. The capes had regrouped quickly, already firing attacks around the cyclops; I guess they had decided any assistance against an Endbringer was worth having. They pelted its body with blasts and beams while doing their best to not damage my summon.

I breathed in and out. My blood pumping loudly through my ears. I pulled at the mana of this world. A pressure that was growing behind me. It was like a plugged pump, building up and building up until it burst.

Banishment? No, I would strike at its core. At its master. I'd just figure out how while I was attempting it.

I let out a scream and rushed forward into the capes, reciting half-remembered words from spells I'd poured over in my library. A beam shot from my hands, tearing scales out of its hide and burning it to the bone. Or whatever it had underneath. Its attention turned to me.

Its face showed no emotion, but I was sure that I had angered it.

I started speaking and didn't stop. Spells poured through my hands like the rain around us. Circles coming and going as I needed them. Just a product through which to release this tremendous build-up of power that I was creating behind me.

I was sure that it wanted nothing more than to kill me at that very moment, but it could do nothing but take the barrage I sent towards him. Dimensional rifts, spells to disintegrate, tear at the very nature of reality. Polyphemus held him strong while the Endbringer whipped around in his arms. I became bolder. Venturing closer to ensure more and more power was brought down upon him.

I was laughing so hard it was difficult to think. So much power. I had never felt so much power. My breath came in strong, even now. Mana ripped through me like a hurricane. Spellfire rained down as Leviathan battled my behemoth.

His tail swung around. The last thing I felt was my body impacting against something. Then black.

\- Scene Change -

I woke up from a horrible nightmare. Gasping for breath and awake with a sudden clarity. My first sight was Koa's beautiful face looking down into mine. My next was the broken head of Polyphemus laying behind her. It looked like I had been correct. The giant hadn't been able to hold up against an Endbringer.

Why hadn't Cauldron come to save me? I thought Contessa had been watching?

My body hurt beyond the physical pain. It burned. This wasn't natural. It felt like razor wire had been pulled through my veins. All that power had been intoxicating. Far too intoxicating. I'd flown into an Endbringer while drunk off my own might.

I should be dead right now. The realization left me feeling drained. Emotionally. Mentally.

Koa's arm around me felt very reassuring as she helped me stand up. I didn't want to speak, but I felt that I needed to ask.

"How…" I paused as my throat fought against my attempt at speech, "How did the fight go."

"He came."

I would have asked who but I didn't have to, I could _feel_ him. His presence was…staggering. Yukari couldn't hold a candle to this. Yukari's aura was ancient, powerful, something that set you on the edge of your seat. His was a weight that you could feel with every shuddering breath. Just looking upon his golden visage you could tell. He...it was something. Something else. Something powerful.

And he just looked so sad.

It was shocking to see something so natural set onto his face. This wasn't like with Leviathan. His movements weren't….well they _were_ foreign but _this_ was real. You could feel his sadness, his loss, as much as you could feel his very being. It was something horribly human on a monstrosity.

And...an idea came into my head. A silly idea, _but_...

I rose into the air, wobbly even under my own power. There weren't any words needed. Intent was all that mattered. I reached out one hand. Trembling under the effects of what I had just put my body through but not wanting to miss this chance. He turned to look at me as I cleared the distance between us. His face unmoving even as he watched me.

His eyes turned to mine and we stared at each other.

I poked him in the forehead.

He stared.

Nothing happened.

I floated back slowly, a little bit embarrassed at what others might think I was doing. Also, afraid he might suddenly decide to change his mind and kill me. The assault never came. I was fortunate he had not seen that as an attack but...it had seemed like a good idea. In my head. At that moment.

Maybe it would pay dividends, who knows.

I floated back to Koa, my mind aripe with worries. Not only on what I had just attempted but on what I had just gone through. That hadn't been me, during the fight. That had been something else. Something evil. Like I had been on drugs. It had been my thoughts but...I had gotten so caught up in my emotions and those urges had taken control of me. I had put my body through the ringer and it already felt like I had undone everything Panacea had cured me of.

And why had I done that? That wasn't how I acted. That wasn't what I was.

"The heroes were looking for you. The villains too but the heroes were more interested in talking to you."

"Yeah...I'm sure they were."

I hadn't really been expecting to go all out _quite_ like that. Maybe press an attack to get some new data, but not try and kill him right there. I had maybe played all my cards a little too early. This had been meant to be a fact-gathering attack not...well that.

It hadn't been a failure, but I was sure I was going to have some interesting visitors knocking at my door these next few weeks. This was going to be such a hassle. I probably needed to go through a million different discussions. Tell Cauldron everything I knew then tell the Protectorate, filtering out the more crucial information. There'd be meetings and pitches, and probably a few attacks by villains. I'd need to speak with Koa, get back into my research, possibly even test out some new things on her. I'd found an avenue of attack that she could assist me with after all.

But you know what? I didn't care about that right now. I really just wanted to sit down in my library and eat dinner with the ones I loved.

"Koa...let's go home."

And so we left.


	23. Chapter 22

"Honey, could you pass the spaghetti please?"

The bowl of pasta floated over to dad and hovered there, while he piled food onto his plate.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

My eyes never left my own dish throughout the whole process. True to my request, we'd left the remnants of the Endbringer attack and gotten back just in time for dinner. Dad had been making spaghetti and meatballs and was overjoyed to see us come down the stairs.

But, I didn't know how I felt about the whole thing. It was such a jarring shift from earlier that it left me feeling odd. Not good, definitely not like how I thought I would feel. I couldn't tell _why_ I wasn't feeling like my normal self. I should feel better than I did. I should be happy to be here with everybody.

I did feel a little better I guess. It felt much warmer here at home. Welcoming. Safe. Dad was...well, he was my dad. Even now - even after I'd faced an Endbringer alone - he wasn't treating me any differently. He still had that same bright look in his eyes; he was happy to have his baby girl with him again.

"So," He paused, "Did you have a good day?"

"It was fine."

I should have said something after that, but I didn't. Conversation had been sparse ever since we had sat down, sparser than normal. I couldn't work up the energy to fake a story, pretend that everything had been going alright today, talk about what I had been researching.

It probably wasn't necessary, but I still shot Koa a warning glare. He was my dad and I loved him but there was no way we were having a conversation about what had actually happened earlier. He just wasn't ready for a discussion about the dangers of fighting Endbringers. I'd ... eventually get around to discussing what I do in my "research time" with him.

But now it was time to have a normal dinner with my normal dad and pretend we were one big normal family. I took a glance to my right, where the fairy nibbled slowly at her bowl of pasta, her entire focus on the noodles. Dad was idly trying to wipe a spill up off her shirt.

For some reason, watching Dad coddle her annoyed me, just the tiniest bit.

"Dad, you do know she's older than you are, right?"

Dad looked at me for a second with a blank expression on his face, then went back to wiping at the fairy's mess. I guess it was tough to wrap your mind around the idea that the little girl sitting on a stack of phonebooks could be hundreds of years old. I just would prefer if he would stop babying her like that. She should be able to use something as simple as a fork on her own.

Maybe I should have been feeding her more. I mean, she didn't need to eat, it didn't matter if I just let her go about her own life. Not that I'd tell dad that. If he didn't understand she was older than she looked, I doubted he would get the biology of magical creatures.

Unless oreos counted, the fairy hadn't eaten for three days and she was just fine.

I went back to staring at my food, moving the spaghetti noodles from side to side, cutting a meatball in half and then taking a sip of water. The gentle sound of forks on plates and people chewing was almost relaxing.

"So, did you go to the beach today?"

It took a second for my brain to parse what dad had asked me, but the moment it did, my entire body tensed up and I could feel my heart rate spike. How could he have known about that? The beach? That couldn't have been a coincidence. And had he said that weirdly? Accusing almost? I couldn't tell, but maybe. Had someone told him?

"Uhhh, why would you say that?"

Deflection, thy name is Taylor. Someone had to have told him. Koa? Yukari? Cauldron? Why would any of them do it though? Did it really matter _why_ they did it? The grip around my fork started to become painful. I swear, if they had let my dad know….

"You have sand in your hair," He took a long sniff, "And you smell like the docks."

I probably should have showered before coming back. I set my fork down on the table, rubbing at the ache in the palm of my hand.

"Yeah we did. Koa and I. Went to the beach I mean. It was," I searched for the right word, "Fun."

I didn't look up, which didn't sell the story as well as I could have, but I really didn't want to look dad in the eye.

"Well," Dad picked at his meatballs, "That's good."

I stared at the table. Another conversation dead before it started.

"I was worried you were spending-"

"What?"

"I said, I'm-, well, I'm glad you're getting out more. I know you're working hard, but you should be having fun too."

"I think my work is fun." I picked up my fork to slide a meatball across the sea of pasta, but the imagery made me put it back down.

"I know, I know. I'm not going to intrude on your work life, but I'm just happy that you're getting out a bit too. Having some fun with your," He coughed, "Friend."

I sighed again. "Thanks dad, I'm glad you're worrying about me."

"Honey, that's not what I-"

"Oh don't worry, Danny," Koa interrupted, "Miss Taylor knows how to have fun, she just needs the proper _motivation_."

She managed to reach across the table and nudge dad with her elbow throughout that, winking here and there. I glowered at her.

Watching our antics, Dad smiled faintly. He looked, well, not exactly happy, but at least _pleased_ about something.

I knew that he and Koa talked when I wasn't around. What had she told him?

"I'm just happy to hear that your relationship is going so well. I know since E-" He stopped himself at _that_ sore point and tried to recover, "Well, I know it can be hard finding people you get along with. I'm just happy that _you're_ happy."

I managed to work up a hint of a smile. "Thanks. I'm happy that things have gone as well for us as they have. Koa's annoying but I can't imagine life without her."

It was always nice to give her credit when she had done something good, and Koa had been a lifesaver today. I shuddered. She clasped my hand and squeezed, smiling brightly. I squeezed back, happy to feel something besides numb shock.

But there was something else there. I could feel a semblance of something through our bond. Not just the positive emotions I was used to, but the sort of benign malice that accompanied particularly successful missions on her part. I narrowed my eyes at her, as she attempted to look innocent. Definitely worrying.

I let go of Koa's hand and turned back to my pasta, feeling that bone-deep pain starting to lift from me.

All the blood rushed to my head, and everything went white. I was pulling my face out of the tomato sauce before I had time to process what had happened.

"Taylor! Are you ok?"

I tried to speak but fumbled the first few words and then nearly fell out of my chair. Koa grabbed one side and dad grabbed the other; both lowered me to the ground slowly. Dad's frightened face loomed over me and suddenly I was back.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just ... I don't know what happened."

I felt hot, way too hot, and the head rush hadn't quite left me. I leaned on Koa to help get me to my feet. Dad stood close, murmuring questions, unsure if I needed help or was better now.

"Yeah, I just." I paused, trying to put the words together, "I feel weird. Tired. I think maybe something's acting up. Maybe I need to head to bed. I might have pushed myself too much today."

"Okay, that's...that's a good idea. Do you need help? Do you need anything?" Dad was calming down, the dynamic becoming a little more familiar.

Koa's arm around me was the only thing keeping me straight as we walked up the stairs, dad following behind us as we ascended.

"It's okay, I think I just need to sleep."

Dad stopped outside my room. "Okay, just be sure to call me if you need anything, alright?"

I murmured some acknowledgement as we headed through the portal to my much more comfortable bedroom. It was sweet of dad but it wouldn't be needed. I was fine. Must have pushed myself too hard. No worries. I'd be feeling better by tomorrow.

I was sure of it.

-Scene Change-

Oh, poor Miss Taylor. Her pained moans were driving a stake into my heart. And trust me, I knew _exactly_ how painful that felt. I wished I could just jump under those blankets and wrap her up in the tightest hug I could give her, but I'd just end up snapping her spine. But there was something better I could do for her. I wiped the sweat off her pale and pain-wracked face one last time and made my way for the door. She needed to get something in her or else that fever was only going to get worse.

Although...how bad did she _really_ need to eat. She was probably going to throw up most of it anyway. I _could_ spend just a tiny bit more time here, give Miss Taylor something to cuddle up to, perhaps rub the aches and pains out of her body….

No! Right now Miss Taylor needed a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup and a cold compress on her forehead. Maybe a lap to rest that head on, while she was too tired to say anything against it. I needed to remain strong, to not get distracted, to not fail her, especially not right now.

We were pretty much dating, even if she wasn't aware of it yet.

I tiptoed away from her bed and exited through the door, _quietly_ shutting it behind me. No sense making her headache worse by slamming it. Right now, she needed some quiet and bedrest. I turned away and found myself face to face with one nuisance that Miss Taylor did _not_ need right now. My eyes narrowed down on her childish body and I felt my demonic nature coming to the fore.

"You."

Remilia Scarlet was standing outside, waiting for me to leave my post by her bedside. The soup could wait. Just imagining her going after Miss Taylor while she was at her most helpless made the worst in me start to rise up.

"What are _you_ doing here."

That vampire smirked, "What do you think?"

This time things did rise out of me - my wings I mean, don't be lewd. The air grew just the teensiest bit hotter as I made it burst into flames. There was only one thing that half-pint vampire could want from Miss Taylor. Well, two things, but she was probably after her blood.

"Attacking Miss Taylor, while she is too weak to fight back? Inexcusable! Unforgivable! Reprehensible!" I flung my arm out at her in a suitably dramatic fashion, "I will not allow you to even _gaze_ upon her!"

"Oh?" She swaggered up to me, raising a hand to bat me out of the way. "You're a mid-tier succubus at best. How are you going to stop me?"

I pulled a spray bottle of holy water out of my apron and spritzed the vampire like a disobedient cat.

She should have known I'd remember to bring protection.

She darted back, hissing, her face covered in bright red splotches. I echoed her smug smile and twirled the spray bottle around one of my fingers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you burn yourself? Little girls should be careful when they're playing with something hot. Now run along, we wouldn't want you getting hurt, now would we?" I waved her off.

That cold spike of rage I felt rush through her was all the reward I needed, her childish face scrunching up in all the ways she would hate for me to point out. I readied my spray bottle against the child vampire. Her eyes turned a deep red and claws extended from her fingertips. The air was still, tantalizingly still; the moment just building up in anticipation.

Like always, I came first.

I jumped backwards and sprayed a cloud of water in front of me. I just knew she couldn't hold back chasing her prey. She let out an angry shriek as she tore through it, her skin turning red and blistering. It didn't slow her down at all. She was swinging blindly at where I had been and then where I was headed.

Oooo, I think I had gotten her eyes. Wow, that must have hurt.

Too bad she had other ways of tracking me. I had to do a bit more dodging than I had anticipated, especially after her eyeballs started growing back. She was better than me, I'll give her that. Stronger, tougher, and a whole lot of stamina. The sort of thing I'd usually like to have in a partner. Not now though. She was a little too dangerous for my tastes.

Thrilling, but dangerous. I'd have to have some more fun with her later when I had the time and was sure I would survive it.

She took another wild swing at me and managed to rip up the front of my blouse, tearing a nice hole in my chest, while she did so.

"I never expected you to be so _forward_!"

I thought it was a funny line, but it only made her more upset. "Shut up!"

"Little girls shouldn't talk back!"

I went in for another spritz but the bottle was knocked out of my hand and she pinned me to the ground in ways that defied physics and logic. I squirmed underneath her as she really started tearing into me. "Oh, yes, _punish me_."

She grabbed my head and smashed it into the floor, really hard. She didn't stop with one hit: she did it again, and again, and again. Each smash followed up with a word.

"Shut! Up! Stop! Talking!"

It seemed she was going to be a brat and throw a tantrum over a few jokes. Well, I was already charging a tiny, little blast - appropriately sized - to get her off of me. An attack I had picked up while going through so much of Miss Taylor's research. Something that should _really_ put her down.

She realized what I was doing mere seconds before I was finished, not that _that_ was going to deter her. She jumped away, to put a bit of space between us, and started charging up an attack of her own, something quick and easy that would get the job done. I could feel it, time slowing down as we both prepared our respective attacks. So close, so goddamn close. I started laughing, my eyes opened wide and my fangs bared as we sought to destroy each other. Either one of us was moments away from death.

Then the doorbell rang.

Both of us paused, deadly spells glowing softly in our hands. Without words, we both let them fall apart and Remila turned away from me. I got up and shook myself off to get rid of the dust and blood.

Remilia pointed at me as she stalked away. "This isn't over."

I scoffed; of course it wasn't. I tried my best to heal the gaping wounds as I made my way towards the door. One last quick check to make sure my stomach wasn't still ripped open, before I answered.

"Hello, can I help you?"

I gave a polite bow and looked up into Armsmaster's face, his followers standing to the side, completely forgettable in his wake. I licked my lips and smiled. He must have noticed, I could feel him getting annoyed at me, clenching his jaw just a little bit tighter.

"Oh? I didn't know we'd be having visitors. Unless you're here for something else..."

I was disappointed that I didn't feel any rise to my suggestion, in emotion or _otherwise_. How could someone be so _boring_?

"We've come to talk with Patchouli."

"Oh no, Miss Patchy is _much_ too sick to see guests. Please come back tomorrow."

I tried to slam the door, since the conversation was obviously over, but Armsmaster managed to block my swing with a single metal boot. Oh, he had some balls on him, ones I was interested in….no, no, no. Not in the library. I would _never_ do something like that to Miss Taylor.

"We were concerned that may be the case after the damage she took yesterday. Luckily, Panacea was kind enough to volunteer her services. Patchouli's health won't be an issue."

I peeked around the hulking, metal man to get a peek at her. Oh, she looked _so cute_ standing behind them all, curled in on herself. Just a writhing little ball of lust, angst and anger. I wanted to sit her down on my lap and _eat her up_.

Mmmm, maybe later. There was always time to acquaint myself with other heroes in this city. I'd do a little digging through that subconscious of hers, find the perfect form to get her engines roaring.

Later, later. I had all the time in the world after all.

"Well, I _guess_ if you can heal Miss Patchy, I should allow you to come in." I said, letting Armsmaster push the door open, "But I should warn you, she will be very unpleasant until you _do_ heal her."

My comment didn't even get a response. Armsmaster walked in followed by his nameless add ons, little Panacea coming in last. I thought about playing the role of a good host - getting them drinks or whatever - but I couldn't let Miss Taylor sit there in pain, while I played nice with a bunch of heroes.

"Please follow me, Miss Taylor is right this way. And hurry, there are many strange things in this library."

I spun around dramatically towards Remilia's room, where she was peering at us, her red eyes the only thing visible in the darkness. I turned and hissed at her, as a warning to stay back, while humans were in the library. She hissed back a few curse words before slamming the door shut.

I snuck a quick peek at my entourage's faces. I'd have to show Miss Taylor later. It was hard holding in my laughter.

"Please follow me closely."

I moved quickly and wasn't surprised to see them match my pace. They were frightened. They masked it well, talking amongst themselves in low whispers, pointing and peering around the parts of the library that we walked through, but I could tell. Something about the unknown just got humans worried like nothing else.

"What was that?" Armsmaster asked, power walking to keep up with my pace.

"It was nothing. Only a bat, nothing to worry about."

We turned a corner into the hall that led to Miss Taylor's room. Thankfully it was close, or they might have seen something they shouldn't have.

"Now, be sure to be quiet and courteous, Miss Patchy _really_ isn't feeling well."

I could see by their faces they didn't realize the extent of the warning I was giving them. Well, if they didn't take heed of my advice, they could learn first hand of the repercussions. I opened the door and beckoned everyone in.

Armsmaster was the only one who took me up on that, entering with a self assured stride. The others choose to stand by and watch him.

"Miss Taylor, the protectorate is here to talk to you." I called inside at a very reasonable volume.

From her bed, surrounded by candles and pentagrams, Miss Taylor moaned and groaned a response that sounded like her death throes. To the untrained ear it might have been complete nonsense, but I knew Miss Taylor well enough to grasp the meaning.

"I thought of that, but they brought Panacea with them to heal you, so I agreed to let them in."

"No." Miss Taylor started squirming around under her blankets.

Armsmaster took over for me. "We would like to discuss your performance at the Endbringer attack, if you would just allow Panacea to-"

"No! Never!" She managed to free herself from her bedding and she started scooting away from the crowd, showing off her corpse-like appearance.

A very cute corpse! But...Miss Taylor wasn't looking her best right now.

"I really have to insist." He responded, "This information is very important."

She glared him down with dark-rimmed eyes, sunken into her skull, framed by a face that was far too pale to be healthy. She really did look like she had died and risen not too long ago. I could see all the parahumans look the teensiest bit unsettled as she tried to pull herself up, using a bookshelf as leverage.

"Get out! Get out! She will never touch me again!"

Armsmaster pressed forward. He was tenacious if nothing else. "I don't see why-"

"GET! OUT!"

Miss Taylor still had a tight control over her magic because everything turned to fire and brimstone around her as she began screaming. Armsmaster didn't need to be told twice; he was outside the room faster than I thought humanly possible. I shut the door behind him, hoping Miss Taylor had worn herself out and could now rest; the worries of humans gone from her head.

The haunted faces of the parahumans stared back at me as I surveyed their group.

"Well, I'm sorry, but looks like she doesn't want to see you right now. I think her illness might be a bit worse than I thought. Still, weird she wouldn't want to be healed by Panacea, huh?"

No one said anything. Very rude.

"Well, I'll be sure to get in contact with you tomorrow about her meeting the director."

With a none so subtle push, I got Armsmaster moving and the rest of the Protectorate members naturally followed after him. The trip back was far more lifeless than the first. I guess seeing Miss Taylor like that had spooked them all something fierce.

They only started to get their wits together after I had funneled them out onto the front porch. Armsmaster was, of course, the first to try and speak. I had seen all the thoughts and questions brewing in that head of his on the way back. He moved closer to me and took a deep breath in.

I gave him a smile and slammed the door shut. The smile was key. It was important to make a good impression, especially after Miss Taylor had snubbed them. I turned back around and found myself face to face with an angry vampire.

Remilia charged with a scream.


	24. Chapter 23

A big thanks to Lyova and Gaia for their help in editing this. Also big thanks to Pericardium whose amazing fic Life Bends Down inspired me to finish writing this chapter.

-Story Start-

"Miss Taylor?"

It took a second for my eyes to adjust from my laptop screen to the dim light of the room. Once they did, I had to push aside a pile of candy wrappers and empty ramen containers on my bed to see Koa. She was just barely peeking in through the doorway, her hands gripping the frame. Like I'd ordered, she hadn't set foot inside.

"Will you please let me come in?" She asked, leaning as far into the room as she possibly could.

"No, I don't want to be bothered," I said, opening a new tab in Firefox. "I'm not feeling well, and anyways, I'm busy."

Koa looked around the room at the trash that had started to accumulate in her absence. "I can tell you've _been busy_."

"Just tell me what it is."

"The Protectorate called again."

I sighed and rubbed between my eyebrows, at the migraine that just wouldn't leave.

"They want to have a meeting this afternoon," Koa continued.

I dropped my head onto the bed, covered it with a pillow and gave a long-suffering moan.

"So, is that a no?"

My response was muffled. "What do you think?"

"You know, Miss Taylor, this would be a good chance for you to have a productive conversation with the local heroes."

I lifted my head out of my bedding. "Aren't you supposed to be a demon? How about you encourage bad behaviour."

"You don't want to be tempted. You just want to be boring."

"Why didn't I summon a sloth demon?"

"Because you wanted someone who would actually work. Besides, they're _really gross_. I hope you wouldn't want to keep one of those creeps around.

I didn't reply, hoping my problem would walk herself back out my door.

"They said they could bring in Panacea if you changed your mind about her."

"I _don't_ want to go through anything like _that_ again."

"Miss Taylor, we aren't sure that it was her healing that-."

"No, I'm sure," I replied, "and I'm definitely not going to let it happen again just to prove myself right. There's no cure for me. Go away. I'll set up a meeting when I feel better." I threw my blankets over myself, turned towards the wall, and that was that.

It didn't take long before I heard the soft padding of Koa's feet on the floor as she made her way towards me. I sighed and covered my face with my hands.

"So, how'd you figure out a loophole?"

"Section Nine, Part C, Paragraph 2. An employee has the right to a meeting with their employer or a representative of said employer at the earliest opportunity when they believe there is a credible danger in the workplace. In such a case, a meeting with the employer will be held to discuss the reason for the causes and fears over the aforementioned danger, and the employer shall, at their earliest convenience, seek to remedy these issues in any way possible."

She paused.

"Doritos, Miss Taylor? Really?"

I let out a another moan and ducked under the covers, a few pitiful coughs coming out as I hid myself. I should never have given Koa time to think. I should have sent her off on a quest or something equally pointless.

"Go away."

She didn't.

I felt the bed shake as something heavy and annoying sat down on the edge of it. I pulled my feet away and moved up to the headboard.

"There's only so much bed. You won't be able to run away for long."

I grabbed the sheets and wrapped myself up, forming a ball.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," Koa said.

She tried to worm a hand underneath, but my fuzzy cocoon proved impenetrable. She opted for rubbing my back through the down comforter.

Why did her massages have to feel so good? Damn succubus; my aches and pains faded with every stroke.

"I want to help Miss Taylor so please, let me. I've been reading up on human relationships and feelings. I think I know how to make you feel better, in every way I possibly can."

The bed shifted as she moved closer to me.

"And I think I've found a way to help fulfill you, connect with you emotionally. But for that, we're going to need to get more...intimate," she said, drawing out every syllable.

Koa crawled on top of me. I was crushed by one hundred and forty pounds of demonic familiar, so heavy I found it hard to breathe.

"Do you have any childhood traumas, Miss Taylor? I'm here for you; I want to listen to your problems. Together I think we can get off-" Koa's sultry voice in my ear paused, "get our _minds_ off the emotional issues that plague our relationship."

"Koa. What are you trying to do right now. Really, what do you think you're doing?"

Her sultry voice lost a bit of its luster. "The book said that that relationships are built off mutual understandings of your significant others insecurities and-"

"Enough. Off," I commanded.

"But Miss Taylor-" she whined.

"Off."

The bed shook as she hopped back to the edge of it.

"Well, maybe you'd like to talk about your love for animals? Maybe while petting one? I could have Meiling find us a dog-"

I cut her off. "Koa. Get out."

She stopped. After a while, she stood up and I heard her walking for the door. Then she stopped and walked back, things swishing and crinkling as she did so.

"I'm sorry Miss Taylor. I'll do better next time, I promise," Koa said, before laying a kiss down vaguely where my forehead was.

The sounds of more trash being moved followed as she walked back outside.

"I'll be right here in case you need anything," she reassured me.

I responded with a huff and was sealed back in with a click. I didn't move, didn't bother untangling myself. It was hot and uncomfortable under the blankets but I stayed there until the need to breathe became unbearable.

Koa was too much of an overbearing presence. She couldn't handle being without me for more than a minute. I should have known she would freak out the longer I kept her away. I _really_ wasn't feeling well and no amount of humor, kind words, or parahuman powers was going to help with that. Even worse that she didn't know what the hell she was doing.

But, maybe I shouldn't have been so snippy with her. She was an idiot and annoying, but she had been trying to help. Koa was a lot of things to me, but most of all she was important. That demon had managed to intertwine herself into my life. I don't think I could, or would want to, take her out of it. I liked her and aside from dad, she was all that I really had.

I gasped for breath as my head breached the covers.

Koa had cleaned my room. Everything had been picked up and put away. The trash was gone and not a speck was out of place as far as I could tell in this light. I even spied a plate of food sitting on my desk. For a moment I stared, hoping it would just disappear and go back to being a mess.

I left the warmth of my bed and floated over to my lunch. Soup, bread and tea. Very minimalist. I bought the bowl of miso soup up to my lips and sipped. Salty and savory, a meal to help you face the day. I squished a small piece of tofu in my mouth, washing it down with another sip of the warm broth. I took a small nibble of bread to help with digestion and then a gulp of tea. Sweet honey mingled with the earthy flavor. A hint of ginger? Maybe? I breathed a little easier, felt a little better. Wiped at my face where it had gotten a little wet.

Stupid Koa.

I floated over to the door and opened it. Koa was waiting there just like she said. She had placed a chair right outside and was leaning back in it as she leafed through a book. I could make out two scantily-clad women cuddling on the front cover with flowy text about flowers and pomegranates or whatever the hell…

Her book on relationships. Jesus Christ. Should I have expected anything else?

Koa was smiling at me and not the lecherous smile I had been expecting.

"Tomorrow. I'll try talking with them tomorrow. And thank you, but please don't read romance novels for tips on emotions."

"That's great news," she said, ignoring my advice, "I already was talking about setting up a meeting for tomorrow. It'll be perfect!"

I smiled, nodded and shut the door. Feelings, Koa; I could deal with that later. An important meeting was coming up. I'd push it all aside for now; I had some research to do.

-Scene Change-

I sat at a table rehearsing the lines I'd written for myself. My last meeting with the Protectorate hadn't gone so well; I needed to make this one count. Koa had picked up the unspoken message and given me plenty of space, only appearing to fill up on tea or bring me snacks.

"Thank you for your time," I mumbled. "I apologize for what happened a few days ago. I hope there are no hard feelings."

I wasn't sure who would be showing up, so I had written some vague questions I was likely to get depending on the person and a - hopefully - broad enough series of answers to work for any scenario or group. After that I'd have to wing it, but this should be a suitable start to a productive conversation about...well, Endbringer attacks I guess.

"She's here." Koa's message flashed through my head.

Looks like I didn't have time to ruminate on it.

"Send her in."

It had to be Miss Militia. She implied female. Battery was the only other female Protectorate member and chances she would show up without Assault were very slim. The chances of a Ward being sent alone were even worse. Besides, I assumed they wouldn't send Armsmaster again, so it made sense the second in command would come instead. I shifted papers around until I found the series of Miss Militia-tailored responses. I set everything in order and waited patiently for my guest.

Then, I stared blankly as a wave of bugs wound their way around a bookshelf. Koa was surrounded by a horde of insects, looking far too enthusiastic for someone in as much trouble as she was. Skitter was standing to her left, nodding along as Koa spoke.

"Koa. What is this? What is she doing in here?"

"You said to let her in," Koa replied with a shrug.

"Well you're going to need to get her out of here before the Protectorate arrives."

"Why would the Protectorate be showing up?"

"What do you-" one look at Skitter and then back at Koa was all it took. "No."

"No?" Skitter asked.

"I don't know what this is, but I'm not letting you bring a villain into my library. Take her back out."

"Oh don't worry, she isn't with the Undersiders right now. Hardly even a villain at the moment. This will be a quick conversation that we need to have. Just hear her out alright?"

I ran my hand through my hair. "Koa..."

"I'll explain everything later," was Koa's desperate plea across our connection, "please play along for now."

"Fine, fine," I said out loud.

Koa's smile was beaming. She gestured to a seat and Skitter moved to sit down.

"Oh no, you aren't sitting in _that_ chair, I'm not getting whatever germs you have all over my furniture."

"Miss Patchy." Koa's voice was reproachful, like a mothers.

"Ugh, fine, but you're cleaning it up after."

Skitter pulled the chair back and sat down, her bugs keeping a loose vigil around her.

"Can you keep those things to yourself. This is a library; I don't want to have to fumigate this place after you leave."

There was a noticeable shift in the order of bugs, many of them retracting onto her person.

"Thank you."

I leaned over the table and rested on my elbows, stapling my fingers together. "So, you've come to me looking for something?"

"Koa set up this meeting."

Koa was smiling at me from behind Skitter's chair, a hand placed reassuringly on the back of it.

"She lets you call her Koa?"

"Why wouldn't she?"

"She doesn't let many people - you know what, it doesn't matter." Koa and I would be talking about it after. "You're here for a reason, aren't you?"

"I'm calling in my favor."

"Your favor?" I rolled that comment around in my head, trying to drudge something up.

"The Undersiders helped with Purity." Koa reminded me.

I grimaced. "That wasn't a _favor_. They helped without prompting, for their own reasons. There wasn't an agreement, no contract, nothing. I'm not going to be held to a binding-"

"She doesn't mean a favor like that Miss Taylor. It's more of an understanding between groups. Helping out those who helped you. Just an honor sort of thing."

"You said that you owed us," Skitter took over, "and you _know_ that you owe us. If your word means anything to you, you should own up to it."

"You have to admit that she's not wrong; we do owe the Undersiders for their help. This won't be anything bad and it will help us in the long run, so please listen to her," Koa pled, her eyes wide and hands clasped together.

"I don't like feeling left out on these things, you know that," I sent to Koa over our connection. "Why's she _really here_? What stupid scheme did you get in your head?"

"It's a bit more difficult than I can explain right now," Koa sent back. "Please, just listen, I can tell you everything after she leaves. I swear, Miss Taylor, this is something that will help us establish ourselves as heroes. No need to run around trying to capture gangsters or whatever Remilia has planned."

I sighed, running my hand across my face. "I just don't want you to double team me on this."

"I don't know Miss Taylor, that sounds like it could be really fun!"

I groaned out loud and slammed my face into the table. Skitter was staring at me, must not have expected that as my response.

"Okay, whatever, I'm listening," I said out loud, before closing my eyes to try and deal with the headache that was forming.

"Koa says that you're trying to transition into a hero group. Well, I'm trying to stop a villain from tearing apart the city we both live in. This would be a good way to make a name for yourself and do some good."

Gangs fighting between each other, doesn't that sound heroic? That request was the sort of thing some know-nothing hero would latch on to, only to wind up in horrible trouble. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to build up mucho cred never came without drawbacks. The phrasing and vagary was just perfect to trick someone into doing something nefarious. Too bad for her, I wasn't that clueless.

"If you want any help I'm going to need a lot more than that. Who is it and why me?"

Skitter looked back at Koa. Koa nodded at her and the villain turned back to me. "The Undersiders boss, Coil. I never knew who he was before, everything went through Tattletale. I didn't know what kind of guy he was, what he really did. I didn't realize we were working for a monster. He was the one that kidnapped Dinah."

Skitter let that statement hang there.

"Kidnapping victim, about a month ago," Koa supplied. "Mayor's niece."

"Oh, right," I nodded, remembering the the news.

Then the implications of that hit me and I felt a pit start to form in my stomach. "What would Coil want with the mayor's niece?"

"She has a power, some sort of thinker. He locked her up in a cell. Hooked her on drugs so she _has to_ answer questions for him. He calls her _pet_." Skitter paused to take a few deep breaths before saying, "I don't care what you think of me, but I don't want someone like that taking control of the city."

I sat back and couldn't get the thought out of my head. A girl in white, arms lithe and body still.

"She's telling the truth," I asked Koa.

"Yes. She is."

I felt the energy start to drain out of me. I leaned onto the table, using it to help hold my weight.

"But why come to me?"

"Coil's afraid of you."

" _What_?"

"Well, maybe not afraid," Skitter corrected herself, "but cautious. He ordered Tattletale to avoid you, not to pry too deep or pester you for anything. Tattletale figured out you mess with thinker powers. We think that might be why. If it's true, you might be the key to getting to him. And-" she waved her hand here, "-you're like an island. You aren't allied with _anyone_. There really isn't any neutral group like that in Brockton..."

"Tattletale was looking into me?"

Skitter didn't respond to that question. Oh well, it didn't matter, I assumed people had to be looking into me. I was sure Contessa would deal with anyone who actually got too close.

"I'm not going to say I'm against the idea," I continued, "but I'll need a little bit of time to plan everything."

Also, a lot of time to get the real story out of Koa and look into what the Undersiders were _actually_ planning.

"Well, isn't that perfect," Koa chimed in, "because then she can stay here to help plan!"

"No she can't, Koa."

"Of course she can, there's plenty of space. I have a guest bedroom set up already. You don't have much to carry do you? Of course you don't. Besides, it's better than moping in that crummy motel and volunteering at soup kitchens. We can all work together and start planning right away with you here."

Koa fussed and prodded at Skitter, moving her out of the chair and trying to make her more comfortable.

"You don't understand me. We have room, but she _can't_ stay here," I said.

"I don't _want_ to stay here," Skitter interjected. "I'm going back to the Undersiders. I just - I wanted everything in order before I did. I just wanted to make sure you were on board before I started planning. I needed Koa to stop bothering me anyway and this seemed like the easiest way to do it."

"Yeah, okay." I gave a lazy response because my mind was focused on something else.

"You were bothering her Koa?" I sent over our connection. "What the hell are you doing? Why are you acting like this? It's almost like-"

I looked at Skitter for a moment, then at Koa. Back to Skitter, back to Koa.

"That's...Koa, I'm going to kill you. I can't believe this," I said out loud.

"Oh, you're being overdramatic," Koa replied.

"How did you even find out about her? Where would you even begin to figure this out?"

"What do you mean?" Skitter asked.

"Were you looking?" I asked, ignoring Skitter. "Was that it? Hoping that you'd be able to set something up like this? Without me realizing it?"

"I'm hurt," she said, covering her heart, "I would never do anything so _crude_. At least, not without your permission. I'm just an impassioned bystander trying to help our first heroic venture."

"Koa, I can't deal with this sort of shit. What am I supposed to do with this. Do with _her_. Why would you bring her here without telling me something as important as this?"

"Well, you know what they say about twins and this is the closest I'll get-"

The insects on and around Skitter were buzzing loudly enough that Koa paused.

"What are you two talking about?" Her voice was echoed by her bugs, a distorted symphony of chittering noise.

Koa was looking to me for the answer to that question. I rubbed at my face. I had the ability to put up illusions. I had researched ways to change my appearance. It had just never been a priority to actually use those spells. Why bother on a different world?

I was an idiot.

"I'm sorry, it's just - I didn't realize before, but we know each other."

"Intimately," butted in Koa.

"You're in enough trouble, don't start any more for yourself," I told her.

"You recognize me?" Skitter's voice was dangerous.

I reached for my mask and slowly pulled it off. Skitter clenched the edge of the table, but didn't say a word.

"Yeah, I think we have a lot more to talk about than just Coil."


End file.
